<p>(L-R) Fergal Costelloe, MD Trade Electric Group, 2023 Champion - David Kitt (Athenry GC) and Derek Sheahan, Men's Club Captain, Castletroy GC </p>
Athenry’s David Kitt held off a final round challenge from Forrest Little’s Jack McDonnell and Castleknock duo Quentin Carew and Paul Coughlan to claim a one hard-fought two-stroke win in the Trade Electric Group-sponsored Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup on Saturday.
A Maynooth golf scholar and former Irish Amateur Close runner-up, Kitt opened with a bogey-free, six-under-par 66 to take a two-shot lead over this year’s Irish Close runner-up Carew with Coughlan five shots back after a 71.
And it was Castleknock’s Paul Coughlan who put Kitt under pressure early in the afternoon round as he made an eagle two at the first and played the first six holes in five-under par.
Forrest Little’s Jack McDonnell joined Kitt at six-under and it looked like it would be a two-horse race between him and Coughlan as they turned for home.
Kitt birdied the second but then bogeyed the fourth, eighth and ninth to turn in four-under par for the event.
He birdied the 10th but after dropping another shot at the signature, par-three 14th, the Galway man covered the next two holes in three-under-par as he followed a birdie at the 15th with an eagle at the par-five 16th.
This gave him a one-shot lead with two holes to play and after getting out of position off the tee on 17, he made a difficult eight-footer for par, then closed with a regulation par to shoot 71 and win by two strokes on seven-under from McDonnell, who shot 67.
Coughlan, who had six birdies and an eagle in a 69, finished three shots behind on four-under after a bogey-bogey finish.
John Kavanagh Jnr was the best of the home brigade as his closing 68 left him tied ninth on one-over.
Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup, sponsored by Trade Electric Group, (Par 72)
| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 | R2 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Kitt (Athenry) | -7 | 66 | 71 | 137 |
| 2 | Jack McDonnell (Forest Little) | -6 | 71 | 67 | 138 |
| 3 | Paul Coughlan (Castleknock) | -4 | 71 | 69 | 140 |
| 4 | Conor Hickey (Dooks) | -3 | 73 | 68 | 141 |
| 5 | Rob Moran (Castle) | -2 | 72 | 70 | 142 |
| 6 | Quentin Carew (Castleknock) | -1 | 68 | 75 | 143 |
| T7 | Alex King (Faithlegg) | E | 75 | 69 | 144 |
| T7 | Ross McCormack (Palmerstown House) | E | 75 | 69 | 144 |
| T9 | Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) | 1 | 70 | 75 | 145 |
| T9 | Simon Walker (Roscommon) | 1 | 74 | 71 | 145 |
| T9 | John Kavanagh Jnr (Castletroy) | 1 | 77 | 68 | 145 |
| 12 | Jason Rackard (Bunclody) | 2 | 73 | 73 | 146 |
| T13 | Mark Gazi (Tralee) | 3 | 72 | 75 | 147 |
| T13 | Neil Patterson (Baltinglass) | 3 | 77 | 70 | 147 |
| T13 | Brian Lane (Muskerry) | 3 | 76 | 71 | 147 |
| T13 | Justin Kehoe (Limerick) | 3 | 76 | 71 | 147 |
| T13 | Mark Doogue (Baltinglass) | 3 | 74 | 73 | 147 |
| T18 | David Kelly (Millicent) | 4 | 74 | 74 | 148 |
| T18 | Gordon Sillet (Ballykisteen) | 4 | 76 | 72 | 148 |
| T18 | David Lawley (Castle) | 4 | 74 | 74 | 148 |
| T18 | Peter McKeever (Castle) | 4 | 74 | 74 | 148 |
| T22 | Ross McKeever (Castle) | 5 | 79 | 70 | 149 |
| T22 | Michael Green (Greenore) | 5 | 73 | 76 | 149 |
| T22 | Tom Cafferky (Ballinasloe) | 5 | 74 | 75 | 149 |
| T22 | Brian Doran (Baltinglass) | 5 | 73 | 76 | 149 |
| T26 | John Hadnett (Castletroy) | 6 | 72 | 78 | 150 |
| T26 | Paul Carey (Nenagh) | 6 | 78 | 72 | 150 |
| T26 | Allan Hill (Roscommon) | 6 | 76 | 74 | 150 |
| T26 | Morgan O'Sullivan (Ballyneety) | 6 | 76 | 74 | 150 |
| T26 | Donnacha Cleary (Tipperary) | 6 | 78 | 72 | 150 |
| T31 | Jack Olin (Castle) | 7 | 72 | 79 | 151 |
| T31 | Andrew McCormack (Castletroy) | 7 | 74 | 77 | 151 |
| T31 | Harry Scott (Castle) | 7 | 74 | 77 | 151 |
| T34 | Kevin Robinson (Castlewarden) | 8 | 76 | 76 | 152 |
| T34 | Sean Mernagh (Castletroy) | 8 | 77 | 75 | 152 |
| T34 | Fergus Harrold (Castletroy) | 8 | 74 | 78 | 152 |
| T34 | Darragh Flynn (Carton House) | 8 | 73 | 79 | 152 |
| T34 | Damian Casey (Shannon) | 8 | 73 | 79 | 152 |
| 39 | David Burke (Claremorris) | 9 | 75 | 78 | 153 |
| T40 | Alan Moran (Castle) | 11 | 77 | 78 | 155 |
| T40 | Nicholas Armstrong (Castle) | 11 | 79 | 76 | 155 |
| T40 | Shane Hogan (Nenagh) | 11 | 79 | 76 | 155 |
| T40 | Fearghal O'Connell (Castletroy) | 11 | 79 | 76 | 155 |
| T40 | Aaron Ryan (Thurles) | 11 | 80 | 75 | 155 |
| T40 | Cian Daly (Castletroy) | 11 | 72 | 83 | 155 |
| T46 | Harry Duggan (Kilkenny) | 12 | 82 | 74 | 156 |
| T46 | Stephen Moloney (Castletroy) | 12 | 81 | 75 | 156 |
| T48 | Rory Murphy (Dun Laoghaire) | 13 | 76 | 81 | 157 |
| T48 | Fergal Cusack (Limerick) | 13 | 77 | 80 | 157 |
| T50 | Stephen Moloney (East Clare) | 14 | 76 | 82 | 158 |
| T50 | Patrick Bermingham (Castletroy) | 14 | 83 | 75 | 158 |
| T50 | Paddy Hussey (Castletroy) | 14 | 81 | 77 | 158 |
| T50 | Donnacha Halpin (Shannon) | 14 | 80 | 78 | 158 |
| T54 | Evan Maher (Mountrath) | 16 | 78 | 82 | 160 |
| T54 | Jake McMahon (Nenagh) | 16 | 82 | 78 | 160 |
| T54 | Cian Adams (Powerscourt) | 16 | 82 | 78 | 160 |
| 57 | Kyle Dillon (Ballyneety) | 18 | 83 | 79 | 162 |
| 58 | Darragh Humphreys (Castletroy) | 21 | 84 | 81 | 165 |
| 59 | Eoin Prendergast (Claremorris) | 22 | 84 | 82 | 166 |
| 60 | Eoin McGuinness (East Clare) | 23 | 87 | 80 | 167 |
| 61 | Eoin Magill (East Clare) | 25 | 81 | 88 | 169 |
| DNF | Senan Carroll (Ballybunion) | - | 74 | NS | DNF |
| DNF | Peter Sheehan (Ballybunion) | - | 77 | NS | DNF |
| DNF | Thomas Plunkett (Old Head) | - | 79 | DNF | DNF |
| DNF | Keith Bermingham | - | 83 | NS | DNF |