Galway's junior and intermediate pitch and putt men's teams travelled to the Leinster Intercounty Finals in Dublin last weekend.
The Galway teams were made exclusively of members of Mellows Pitch and Putt Club. Mellows is the only 18-hole affiliated club left in existence in Connacht, therefore, the club plays its trade in Leinster.
The two six-man teams arrived at Glenville feeling optimistic. James Fleming, Tony O’Connor, Donal Tarpey, Kevin Walsh, Allan O’Keeffe and James McLoughlin made up the intermediate team. The Junior team were made up of Nicky Furey, Patrick Ward, Darragh Conroy, Ger Abberton, Sean Masterson and Michael O’Neil.
The Junior team had a good Scotch Foursomes and played well in the singles with the standout score of level par by Michael O’Neil, finishing in seventh position. The team were only seven shots off third place, a good foundation for the future.
After the Scotch Foursomes for the intermediate’s, the Galway team were on four-under. The singles were kicked off by McLoughlin in an effort to get a strong score on the board early, he posted two-under, followed by Fleming on five-over and Tarpey on one-under.
At that stage the Galway team were in the top five with Meath, Dublin, Kilkenny and Kildare. The last three players on the Galway team would determine the placings. Walsh posted an impressive two-under followed by O’Keeffe with a brilliant score of four-under, but the anchor player of the group was O’Connor as he returned a score of five-over which was enough to secure the Galway team their first intercounty team medals in many years.
Meath were triumphant with an overall team score of nine-under, with Galway in second place on three-under, and Dublin in third on one-over par.
Team Captain James McLoughlin said he was extremely proud to be part of the Galway team.
"That’s 12 Leinster medals we’ve brought back across the Shannon this year in the various competitions, an unbelievable achievement by Galway and Mellows Pitch and Putt".
Mellows Club Chairman Frank Naughton said, "Myself, our club members and our committee members are so proud of our players, and all the work we do here at the club," said Frank Naughton, Mellows club chairman.
"[It] is all in an effort to grow our amazing game, not only at local level, but at National level, and the results this season are showing the clubs commitment to this end. That, coupled with the financial support required to bring these ambitions to fruition, and the commitment by the players, it's surly a recipe for success going forward into the future," Naughton added.
The intermediate team will now compete in the 2026 National Intermediate Shield, where the top two teams from Leinster and Munster fight it out for the title. Meanwhile, Mellows send their National Intercounty Team to the finals at Navan Pitch and Putt for a weekend of competitive action from Saturday, September 13 to Sunday, September 14.
