This was our first venture outside of the British Isles and it turned out to be an absolute belter.

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We warmed up at the stunning Portstewart links in Wednesday sunshine (Richie made it with a full hour to spare!) and then enjoyed two fairly blustery but dry rounds on the Thursday and Friday at Royal Portrush. The golf course was absolutely top class and totally deserving of being awarded The Open in 2019. 

We stayed at a nice hotel in the middle of Portrush but it was eclipsed by the quality of the nightlife in Portstewart. The locals were also very friendly but the local constabulary not so. 

Gaz and Ant ended up having a pretty close battle on the links. Gaz was playing beautifully (some of his low, fizzing mid-irons still live in the memory) and he took a slender lead into the final round. Ant wasn’t content to settle for second and place and made one of his trademark ‘charges’, getting to within 2 points with 3 holes to play. However, in true champion style Gaz responded and managed to keep Ant at arm’s length to secure his second title. Richie would surely have contended had he not been put off by some “animals” on the adjoining 13th fairway. He was red-faced with undiluted rage (or so we thought).
 
Scores:
These scores also fell victim to the blatant and most heinous theft of the Blue Book in 2017. The
Garda in the Sligo area are still working around the clock to find the pitiful miscreant. The event has
prompted the Irish legislature to pass a special bill, bringing the death penalty back in exceptional
circumstances.