West of Ireland 1923

Co Sligo Golf Club

The Irish Independent of Monday, 20 August, 1923 reported on the inaugural West of Ireland championship, which was won by Co Sligo's Larry Vernon. He was the husband of an even more accomplished golfer in Amy Ormsby.

While he was the course record holder at Co Sligo with a six-under-bogey 75, she was the Irish Women's champion of 1909, as Dermot Gilleece reported in The Irish Times in 2000:

"After falling into ill-health, Vernon was advised to go abroad to sunnier climes. So it was that on December 16th, 1913, he and his wife emigrated to South Africa, where he went on to become runner-up in the national Strokeplay Championship at Royal Port Alfred in 1922. Meanwhile, his health improved to such an extent that he saw fit to return home to Rosses Point on holiday the following year." 

His return co-incided with the first staging of the West of Ireland Championship, which he would go on to win, beating B M Cook by 3 and 2 in the final.

The annual tournament under the auspices of the Co. Sligo Club, at the Links, Rosses Point, proved a big success. The West of Ireland Championship, for which there were 42 entries, attracted much interest, and was won by Mr L P Vernon. Details:

The undermentioned 16 qualified in two 18 holes of medal play:

A. Chance, 172; W. Ormsby, 172: L.P. Vernon 176; "Pneumatic", 176;  Jas Sinclair 183; Capt. H.H. Lyons 178; H.C. Lyons, 179; A.P. Jackson, 181; J.R. McCarthy, 181; B Cook, 182; Dr H. Boyers, 183; D.F. Alexander 185; N.A. Chance 188; T. Golfer, 188; M. Hennigan, 188; J McLoughlin, 189.

What's remarkable about the results are the pseudonyms, "Pneumatic" and. presumably, T Golfer. 

MATCH PLAY

First Round

Sinclair bt. Jackson, 2 and 1
"Pneumatic" bt Boyers, 6 and 5;
N.A. Chance bt Alexander, 1 up;
Vernon bt Hennigan, 2 and 1;
"Golfer" bt A. Chance, 2 up;
H.H.  Lyons bt McCarthy, 6 and 4;
Cook bt. Ormsby, 2 and 1; 
H. C. Lyons bt McLoughlin, 2 and 1. 

Second Round

"Pneumatic" beat Sinclair, 4 and 3; 
Vernon beat Chance, 6 and 4;
H.H. Lyons bt "Golfer", 2 and 1; 
Cook beat H.C. Lyons, 3 and 1.

Semi-final

Vernon beat "Pneumatic", 1 up; 
Cook beat Lyons, 2 up. 

Final

Vernon beat Cook, 3 and 2.