The Home Internationals 2021 at Hankley Common
Being selected to represent your country is the greatest honour a sports person can ever receive. This was my 3rd time Home Internationals since I regained my amateur status back in 2016. I was on the winning team in Moortown where we got ahead of England on the last day. I also played in Conwy in Wales a year later where England got their revenge on us beating us by ½ a point to win the Raymond Trophy.
The team met in Dublin Airport as we always do following a week of collecting your Irish Gear and getting yourself ready which is always a nice part of the experience. We got to the golf course in the afternoon and had some time to hit some balls on the range and work on short game etc. Essentially this is a nice time for the team to hang out together. Normally we see each other at events but these guys are my competitors most of the time, its nice now to be a part of a team for the week. John Carroll our captain, I have known for 25 plus years as we are both from Cork and have known each other through golf all that time. I have played under John on a winning Munster Team in 2007 and now on a winning Irish Team. Rebels Abu!!
Tuesday was official practice where you are put in groups with your potential partner for the week. I was in a group with TJ Ford and Jack McDonnell who are a tight Connacht pairing. My partner for the week was Matthew McLean. I have known Matt for a few years, he is a fine player and a tough competitor – I probably didn’t say it to him at the time, but I was really happy with that match up.
Day one we had Scotland who came to Hankley with a really strong team. We played some nice golf to beat Scotland on day one. Matt and I played well and won our game. I lost my singles match, but I really don’t mind losing a match once the golf was at a high level. I was -4 for 17 holes – I thought I was getting back into the game when I eagled the par 5 13th, but it ended up being a tie in eagles on that hole. That can happen at this level.
Day two we played Wales. Matt and I lost our game on 17 which really could have gone our way if we holed a few putts. I won my afternoon match and Ireland won well! Onto England for the Championship… or so we thought.
The Home internationals can be a very close tournament. Scotland had beaten England well on Day two which also put them into the Race to win the event. They needed to Beat Wales well which they did and wait for our result against England. We lost the foursomes 4-1. Again, Matt and I lost on the last which was a shame as the match was a high-quality game and could have gone either way. I played poorly in my afternoon match which I lost. My driver is my strong part of my game and unfortunately, I was missing fairways which you cannot do at Hankley Common.
Some brilliant performances in the singles gave us a 7.5 – 7.5 tie with England with that the Home Internationals title for 2021! A very memorable week I will never forget!
Articles
www.independent.ie ( Peter O’Keeffe, who won the AIG Irish Amateur Close at Tullamore last month before helping Ireland to a 19th win in the Home Internationals, claimed the men’s event in style )
Irishgolfer.ie ( Men in Green claim brilliant victory )
Irishgolfer.ie ( Amateur titles just the tip of the iceberg for ambitious O’Keeffe )
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