Ireland declared Senior Home Internationals winners after GUI appeal

Ireland have been declared the rightful winners of the 2015 Senior Men’s Home Internationals — more than a month after the title was incorrectly awarded to Scotland.

We reported in these pages on September 22 that a mistake had been made and that Ireland could well be awarded the title after an appeal.

And so it proved yesterday with England Golf correcting the results which showed that Ireland won 18 game points to 17 for England and 14 and a half for Scotland. 

The championship was held at Crowborough Beacon Golf Club in Sussex in September and Ireland, England and Scotland finished tied on two match points each.

However, the Scots were declared the winners as the current holders, which clearly contradicted the tournament conditions.

The rules state that“in the event of an overall tie on Match Points, the result will be determined in sequence upon: (i) Overall total points won;  (ii) The individual match result of the tieing Countries. S

“Should there still be a tie on the number of points the higher placed team in the previous year’s meeting shall have preference,” the conditions stated. 

According to England Golf: “The GUI appealed against the original decision and the England Golf Championship Committee concluded that the tie-breaker had been incorrectly applied and that the team from the Golfing Union of Ireland were the rightful winners of the championship and the records should be amended accordingly.”