PITCH & PUTT: Pitch and Putt- Ireland win World Title

Ireland recently defeated Holland 4 - 1 in the final of the Pitch and Putt World Cup to win the competition for the first time. The team of Ray Murphy (Templebreedy, Cork), Paul O'Brien (Lakeside, Tipperary), Derek Courtney (Glenville, Dublin) and manager Breda Brophy (McDonagh, Kildare) represented Ireland in the third staging of this competition at the Papendal course, near Arnhem in the Netherlands.


Despite winning all five European Championships held to date, Ireland had yet to win a World Cup. A strong showing in the morning session left Ireland with a one point lead over second seeds Holland, 1.5-0.5. Great performances from the three lads saw Ireland power to victory in the afternoon, Ray Murphy halved his match with Rolf Kwant, Paul O'Brien defeated Jan Tijhuis 5 & 3 and Derek Courtney was 1up winner against Patrick Lunning.

Manager Breda Brophy said "she was very proud to be the first Manager to lead an Irish team to victory in the World Cup and she was full of praise for the manner in which the three team members performed during the week". She also thanked all the supporters who traveled out to Holland.


The resolve of the Irish team was clearly tested the previous day in the semi-final against Great Britain. Two of the singles games went all the way to the final hole but Ireland secured a 3.5-1.5 victory. Ireland had earlier beaten Chile 5-0 in the quarter-finals after gaining the top seed status, with the lowest score in the opening day Strokeplay.


Two time winners Catalonia defeated Great Britain to earn third spot after relinquishing their title in a semi-final defeat to the Dutch.