Athenry’s David Kitt held off a final-round challenge from Forrest Little’s Jack McDonnell and Castleknock duo Quentin Carew and Paul Coughlan to claim a hard-fought two-stroke win in the Trade Electric Group-sponsored Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup on Saturday.

A Maynooth golf scholar, Kitt opened with a bogey-free, six-under-par 66 to take a two-shot lead over Carew with Coughlan five shots back after a 71.

Coughlan put Kitt under pressure early in the afternoon round when he made an eagle two at the first and played the first six holes in five-under par.

McDonnell joined Kitt at six-under and it looked like it would be a two-horse race between him and Coughlan as they turned for home.

Kitt birdied the second but then bogeyed the fourth, eighth and ninth to turn in four-under-par for the event. He birdied the 10th but after dropping another shot at the signature, par-three 14th, the Galway man covered the next two holes in three-under-par as he followed a birdie at the 15th with an eagle at the par-five 16th.

This gave him a one-shot lead with two holes to play and after making a difficult eight-footer for par at the 17th, he closed with a regulation par to shoot 71 and win by two strokes on seven-under from McDonnell, who shot 67.

Coughlan, who had six birdies and an eagle in a 69, finished three shots behind on four-under after a bogey-bogey finish.

A closing 68 left Castletroy’s John Kavanagh Jnr tied ninth on one-over.

Castletroy Senior Scratch Cup, sponsored by Trade Electric Group, (Par 72)

Detailed scores