CROMWELL'S CLASS REGAINS ALLEN CUP

Having previously got his hands on the trophy in 2013, Neil Cromwell produced a phenomenal gross 68 to claim glory in the Allen Cup once again on 14 July.

It is Neil's talented son, Adam, who's been creating more column inches this season but, in this stroke event sponsored by JR McMahon Menswear, Cromwell senior stepped back into the golfing limelight. The wily three-handicapper birdied the opening hole before rattling off eight consecutive pars to negotiate the front nine in just 33 blows. A solitary bogey would follow at the 10th, and then a dozen more homeward pars were pleasantly interspersed by birdies at the 12th and 15th that smoothed his path to a reunion with the familiar silverware.

Cromwell's magical nett 65 total was one fewer than tournament runner-up, Mark Stevenson. As he trudged to the 8th tee at eight over par, Mark's outing was going nowhere in particular. However, a stirring comeback of eight pars and three bogeys across the remaining 11 holes catapulted Stevenson to the upper echelons of the Saturday leaderboard, and his handicap's been trimmed from 15 to 14 as a consequence of this bouncebackability.

Neil Cromwell receives the Allen Cup from Brian Graham of JR McMahon Menswear, competition sponsors, and Club Captain, Colm Shannon.

Tom Calvert started and finished with scrappy sixes but, happily, was a mere three over par for the intervening 16 holes.