DEADLY DOUGAN DELIVERS JULY KNOCKOUT

With Kieran Grimley, Gary McAleavey and Joe Rooney already having tasted monthly glory this season, 119 contenders took to the city’s fairways on 30 July in pursuit of the latest Medal up for grabs at County Armagh Golf Club. And getting his hands on said silverware in the Alexander Mills-sponsored event was Sean Dougan Senior, who laid waste to all of those opponents with a quite peerless Sunday performance.

Dougan has already demonstrated his matchplay prowess this term in qualifying for the latter stages of both the Smith Cup singles and the Charlemont Cup doubles along with his son, also called Sean and no stranger to honours himself. Sean Senior even featured among the prizewinners in June’s ‘9 & Wine’ event but, on this occasion, he proved himself to be more than adept at coping with the challenges posed by the game’s bread-and-butter format: 18-hole strokeplay.

A gross 75 didn't appear to be in the offing when uninspiring early exchanges left Dougan four over par after five holes. However, it was at that juncture that the then 11-handicapper really hit his straps, backing up consecutive pars at the 6th, 7th and 8th with a brilliant birdie at the 9th. Even better than that latently fruitful three-over-par front nine was a homeward dander of just 38 strokes, where another birdie at Sequoias iced a back-nine victory cake also boasting five pars and acceptable bogeys at the 10th, 16th and 18th.

Sean Dougan, winner of the July Medal sponsored by Alexander Mills, is congratulated by County Armagh Golf Club Captain Richard Stewart.