WAYNE Parkes could not keep up with the pace of Aidan Murphy in their senior championship encounter at the Marsh Road on Monday.
After three shots each to the end of the distillery, Parkes led by ten metres. After two more to the veterinary entrance he had odds of 25 metres. After a blunder from Murphy with his sixth that was too tight left, Parkes had a huge chance of rising big odds but ran too low and left his bowl right.
From here Murphy upped his game. He made out to the silvery gate with his sixth shot that Parkes only beat by three metres in two shots. Three more good bowls each out to the steps, Parkes was holding it to a bowl of odds. Three and four shots out of sight for Ballyhilty and Parkes was now facing a two bowl-of-odds deficit. Murphy got up to Crowley’s boreen in two more very well-played bowls that raised the two bowls of odds. Parkes was just short of the Bridge in two more and had it under the two bowls here, but Murphy rose the two bowls again with a great 19th shot and progressed on to the next round.
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Lyre Bowling Club held the final of a novice C tournament between Gearoid Lucey from Ballyvourney and Eoin Hurley from Kilronan in Dunmanway; they played for a stake of €2,225 a-side. Lucey got the dream start in this one, going almost a bowl of odds up after his first shot. Hurley kept it under the bowl at the School Cross.
From here Hurley got two incredible bowls up sight past O’Donovan’s pillars that gave him his first lead in the score. However, this lead was short-lived as Lucey was back in front again facing up the Masons Hill. Hurley missed up full sight and looked in trouble when Lucey made the top of the hill, but Hurley produced a magnificent shot to DOD’s pillars, winning back the lead again.
Again, Lucey put down a great bowl to the hedging and Hurley missed this by 50 metres. Hurley got an average bowl to Hegarty’s entrance but an uncharacteristic blunder from Lucey missed the tip for the last shots. Lucey was too tight left again and just fell short of the line and Hurley beat the line and took the score.
Also at Lyre in a junior A tournament score, Johnny O’Driscoll beat Andrew O’Callaghan by one bowl. They played for a total stake of €2,600. Three shots each to the forest entrance O’Callaghan had 30 metres of odds. O’Callaghan held this lead over the tunnel in two more. Both missed Crowley’s bend in two more but O’Driscoll was back in front, a lead he would relinquish no more. At McCarthy’s bend in three more, O’Callaghan missed sight and O’Driscoll had valuable odds. At the big tree O’Driscoll had 40 metres of odds and finished with two huge bowls from here over the line to win by a bowl.
David Hegarty (centre) had too much for Noel O'Regan and Jimmy O'Driscoll in their final at Grange on Sunday.
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The Mid Cork championship continued at Newcestown where Brendan O’Neill had a convincing win over Kenneth Murphy, for €1,200 a-side. This was an uphill battle for Murphy from the word go, as he was carrying a knee injury. He found himself a bowl down after the first shot. After five good bowls from O’Neill to Allen’s entrance, Murphy was two bowls in arrears. At Desmond’s lane the same odds separated them. O’Neill got good bowls up the hill for Buttimer’s and Murphy followed them. Murphy missed out to O’Brien’s cross and O’Neill had three bowls of odds there. Two more each to the pitch and putt course still three bowls and O’Neill won. He awaits the winner of John Butler v Denis Murphy in the final.
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Grange held two very exciting finals on Sunday. First up, it was Conor Creedon v Ger Connolly v Donie Harnedy, playing for a total stake of €9,000. Harnedy enjoyed a blistering start in this score – he was down past Noelie’s bungalow in three huge bowls where he was throwing his odds over 20 metres on Creedon and 100 metres on Connolly.
Connolly got a huge touch with his fifth that took him down past John Bill’s, Harnedy’s fourth bowl three-quarter ways down the hill. Creedon missed this to go a bowl down and Connolly only beat the tip by 25 metres. Harnedy made his first bad blunder of the score with his fifth past the muddy entrance, he was very right of play and it cost him a lot. He had big odds on Connolly and it was under the bowl on Creedon.
None of the three players played their next bowls. Harnedy only made the start of the green with his next and Creedon and Connolly made the upper end facing up the school hill. Creedon got two poor bowls from here and was a bowl out of it again at De Barra’s. Connolly, from the back of De Barra’s, lined an absolute beauty to the end of the New House wall. Harnedy went full sight at Hollands. Connolly got a beautiful touch off the white wall and went sight at the stud farm bend, both Creedon and Harnedy missed this, leaving Creedon a bowl down and Harnedy missed the tip by two metres. Creedon fell out here.
Harnedy got a great bowl to the Farm entrance and Connolly missed the tip but it was ‘called’. His second effort was the winning of the score for him as he beat the tip by 40 metres. Harnedy lined a super last but it was not enough as Connolly beat it by 30 metres to retain his title as he won the same tournament last year.
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The second final was equally as exciting in Grange, as it was Jimmy O’Driscoll v Noel O’Regan v David Hegarty, playing for a total stake of €4,500. All three went out and around the Stud farm bend in three each, with O’Regan in front. After two more great bowls from O’Regan, below De Barra’s he had a bowl on Hegarty and was throwing his odds over O’Driscoll.
O’Driscoll got a poor bowl down the hill, Hegarty a super bowl to the start of the green and O’Regan made full sight at Hegarty’s with his seventh. After a massive eighth from O’Regan to the muddy gap that both O’Driscoll and Hegarty missed, O’Regan had a bowl on both here. Hegarty lined an incredible tenth up the rising road past the big tree – this knocked the bowl on O’Regan and raised big odds on O’Driscoll. Three poor bowls in succession from O’Regan put him in trouble. One was ‘called’ but he did no better on the second attempt.
O’Driscoll’s 12th shot was a massive bowl past Noelie’s bungalow and looked like it would win him back the lead but Hegarty lined his equally as good and beat the tip by 30 metres. O’Regan missed Hegarty’s tip also to give him only his second lead in the score. But we weren’t done yet. O’Driscoll had a poor 13th, O’Regan made the back of Fiona’s house and took the lead again from Hegarty. O’Driscoll missed sight at Barry's, Hegarty out full sight and back in front again as O’Regan missed the tip by 15 metres.
O’Driscoll got a huge rub off of Barry’s wall that took him to the car park. O’Regan reached the car park also but missed O’Driscoll tip. It looked like a last-shot score but Hegarty lined a beauty that beat the line and took the honours. In a pick-up score Cathal Creedon beat Jonathon Dean by one bowl for €3,700.
Clubman Brendan O’Sullivan thanked all the players for a very entertaining day's bowling. The club also made a presentation of €2,500 to Cancer Connect and Liam Barry was in attendance to accept the cheque.
