Chris carries his form into the new season

On Saturday he served notice that he has carried that form into the new season when he lifted the Johnston Trophy with 43 points off 24.

Nett birdies at the second and eighth and a nett eagle at the third brought him to the turn with 20 points and there immediately followed a magical run of five holes which yielded no fewer than 16 points and set him on the road to yet another victory.

Second place went to the much practised John Wells with 42 points off 16.

John and George Kidd can frequently be seen on the course engaging in early morning development sessions sharing their knowledge and honing their skills, and their efforts paid off on Saturday when each returned 40+ points.

Failure to score at the seventh hole restricted John to 19 points on the front 9, but five nett birdies and a nett eagle, at the 13th, contributed to a homeward 23 points and second place.

Conal Coleman’s recent form would suggest that we will be hearing a lot more about him over the course of the season.

He took third place with 41 points off 5, with three birdies balancing three bogeys for a very impressive level par round.

The gross prize went to Gary McNally with 37 gross points. Birdies at the 3rd, 4th, 12th and 13th were offset by bogeys at the 2nd, 10th and 14th for a winning 69.

He claimed his prize on the back 9 from Dave Sutton who was coasting to victory when he stood 4 under on the 12th tee only to uncharacteristically drop three shots before the finish.

Peter Cummins was one of four players on the day to return level par or better and he took the low section with 41 points after his level par round.

Young Ronan McGivern and not so young John Hartnett will be pleased to have returned 40 points each, but less pleased that their efforts brought no reward.

The middle section went to George Kidd with 41 points off 15.

Early birdies at the second and fourth helped him reach the turn with 24 points, but although he birdied the 10th, he will be disappointed with his failure to score at the 13th and double bogey at the 15th. These slip-ups would ultimately deny him what at one time promised to be his best ever score.

The in-form Jim Kennedy just missed out on four points and he is still regretting his failure to score at the 9th.

Richard Dawson took the high section with 39 points, another of the very many players who came so close but just missed out due to a single NR. Richard’s came at the difficult 7th.