Romance alive and well as Rosses Point quartet seek maiden wins at "West"
Dermot McElroy. Picture via Twitter/@2015woig
After four days of gruelling competition, Waterford's Eanna Griffin will meet Stackstown's Richard Bridges and County Sligo's Sean Flanagan will take on Ballymena's Dermot McElroy in Tuesday morning's West of Ireland semi-finals. Now it's crunch time and as the strapline in the old Highlander movie used to go, there can only be one.
That Griffin has made it to the last four is no major surprise given that he reached the semi-finals of the South last year and has been playing well over the winter, honing his game with mini tour golf and polishing his skills under coach Shane O'Grady. Full 2015 West of Ireland results
Highlander (1986)
He hasn't won a major amateur title at senior level yet. But neither have Bridges, Flanagan or experienced international McElroy. Either of the four would be a worthy champions and all four have a compelling story worth telling.
Bridges' disappointment after he lost to John Ross Galbraith in the semi-finals of last year's Irish Close at Seapoint was so palpable that the Stackstown man will be hard to stop now with victory so tantalisingly close.
In Flanagan, the leading qualifier, County Sligo have their knight in shining armour though not the one they imagined after Barry Anderson and Gary McDermott both bit the dust.
Flanagan's 19th hole win over Pat Murray in the third round set up a quarter-final showdown with Robbie Cannon, last year's runner up. And while it went to the 18th, the Rosses Point man showed he's got more than enough stomach for battle.
That will be key against the hugely talented McElroy, whose lack of silverware is shocking given his ability.
The Ballymena international was once like the character in the nursery rhyme — his good is great but his bad is rotten. But he now appears to have found a more even keel and if his putter is warm, he's capable of breaking every heart in Sligo.
West of Ireland 2015, SPONSORED BY RADISSON BLU HOTEL AND SPA, SLIGO
SEMI-FINALS, TUESDAY APRIL 7
Eanna Griffin (Waterford) v Richard Bridges (Stackstown)
Sean Flanagan (Co Sligo) v Dermot McElroy (Ballymena)
QUARTER-FINALS, MONDAY APRIL 6
Eanna Griffin (Waterford) bt Stephen Healy (Carton House) 3/2
Richard Bridges (Stackstown) bt Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) 4/2
Sean Flanagan (Co Sligo) bt Robbie Cannon (Balbriggan) 1 hole
Dermot McElroy (Ballymena) bt Gary McDermott (Carton House) 4/3
ROUND 3, MONDAY APRIL 6
FIRST QUARTER
Stephen Healy (Carton House) bt Kevin Le Blanc (The Island) 2/1
Eanna Griffin (Waterford) bt Barry Daly (Edmondstown) 6/4
SECOND QUARTER
Richard Bridges (Stackstown) bt Jack Pierse (Portmarnock) 4/3
Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) bt Des Morgan (Mullingar) 2/1
THIRD QUARTER
Robbie Cannon (Balbriggan) bt John Ross Galbraith (Whitehead) 21st
Sean Flanagan (Co Sligo) bt Pat Murray (Limerick) 19th
FOURTH QUARTER
Dermot McElroy (Ballymena) bt Eddie McCormack (Galway) 1 hole
Gary McDermott (Carton House) bt Eugene Smith (Ardee) 19th
