With County Armagh Golf Club's June Medal generously supported by Johnston's Bakery once again, Gabriel McElveen was able to savour the sweet taste of tournament success.
This was the first Medal to be contested in 2020’s necessarily condensed fixture list but the prestige of the occasion didn’t deter McElveen, who might’ve rightly claimed that it was all “wee buns” as his delicious nett 64 topped the leaderboard.
Gabriel’s display on 28 June was especially angelic during the run of four consecutive pars with which he commenced his back nine, and he eventually got his just desserts in the shape of the coveted monthly accolade. The accompanying three-shot handicap hack merely represented icing on the McElveen Sunday cake.
Next in the overall pecking order was Christopher Crowe, whose magnificent nett 65 landed him the overall runner-up prize. Christopher's handicap was slashed from 22 to the cusp of 19 as a consequence, and one can predict with some confidence that that number will tumble further. He should have plenty to Crowe about as this golfing term progresses.
Elsewhere, Barry McGurgan’s high-quality three-over-par second-half performance set up the nett 67 that saw him prevail in category 1. Barry’s round of nine pars and nine bogeys was a pleasingly neat-and-tidy affair. Indeed, almost identical language could be used to describe Caolan McReynold’s gross 78 effort. Caolan chalked up 10 pars and eight bogeys in the nett 69 that handed him second prize among the 0-12 cohort.
The category 2 laurels went the way of Danny McGee, who enjoyed a fruitful sequence of five pars in six holes either side of the turn. Danny was yet another player to impressively negotiate 18 holes without a double bogey. His excellent nett 66 return was matched by Thomas McElmeel, who was forced into second spot on account of a slightly inferior back nine. Just like Danny, though, Thomas will be gratified by his 17-to-15 handicap clip.
A break of tie was also required to sort out the awards in category 3. Here, the 19+ bracket victor, Chris Hart, and second-placed Gary Hughes both returned handicap-equalling nett 70s and a useful combined haul of 11 pars. Meanwhile, an expertly constructed 76, which featured that rare thing of a birdie at the Lakes, sealed the June Medal gross gong for Killylea’s finest, Lee Stewart.
Three days later, Stephen Monaghan posted birdies on Lady Anne’s Walk and Sequoias during the marvellous gross 77 that yielded 41 points and glory in the opening midweek tournament of July. On the same Wednesday, 2015 CAGC Captain, Richard Black, was king of the over-50s courtesy of a sparkling 42-point scorecard that, lucratively, also featured a pair of twos at the 3rd and 7th.
