Two under-par rounds secured the Corrib Natural Gas/Carne Golf Club Pro-Am crown for Down golfer Barrie Trainor at the scenic north County Mayo links course at the weekend.
The 31-year old from Warrenpoint shot rounds of 70 and 71 to finish three under par to clinch the title with one shot to spare.
Trainor, who represents Mayobridge Driving Range, bogeyed the last two holes but held on to win from Mark Staunton from Ballinasloe and David Mortimer from Galway GC.
There was some consolation for Staunton who broke the course record with a 66 on Sunday, but a four over par opening round left him with just too much ground to make up.
Trainor secured the first prize of €2,000 out of a total prize fund of €20,000 in the 13th annual Corrib Natural Gas/Carne Golf Links Pro-Am.
His team comprised popular Castlebar publican Mick Byrne, Val Jennings and Tom Moylett.
Trainor said that he was thrilled to capture the title but was worried that he had let it slip when he dropped a couple of shots on the final two holes.
“It was a great weekend; I always love it here. I have gone pretty well in the last couple of years with a second place in 2010 and a joint second place in 2011, but I am just delighted to finally take the final step and win it outright.
“The conditions on the course were perfect. Considering all the heavy rain that fell last week, I thought the place looked amazing. The greens were in brilliant condition and ran true all weekend, and the rough was tough, but you’d expect that with links golf.
“I shot -2 on Saturday and hit a -1 on Sunday. I should have finished a lot better in the final round but I almost lost my ball on the second last hole. I managed to find it in the dunes after a bit of searching so I was happy enough to take the hit there. But I dropped another shot on the final hole and at that stage I was sure I'd give the other guys a chance, but lucky enough I had enough done,” said Trainor.
Corrib Gas Carne PGA Pro-AM results:
Professionals: 141 (-3 ) – B Trainor (Mayobridge ) 70,71;
142 – D Mortimer (Galway ) 73,69; M Staunton (Ballinasloe ) 76,66;
143 – D Sugrue (Killarney ) 72,71; D Higgins (Waterville ) 71,72; M Collins (Mallow DR ) 69,74;
144 – B Cosgrove (Killeen Castle ) 72,72; D Mooney (Ballyliffin ) 71,73; D Jones (Bushfoot ) 71,73; E Tracey (Nevada Bob ) 71,73; G Dunlea (Adare Manor ) 74,70; P Walton (Unattached ) 72,72;
145 – D Ryan (Cahir Pk ) 70,75; P Martin (Riverside Academy ) 70,75;
Team: 187 pts – Graeme Dunlea (Adare Manor ) with Gerry Campbell 15, Paul Kierans 18 & Paul Nagle 23 (Corrib Gas Team ).
