Home sweet home as Caolan Rafferty retains Dundalk Scratch Cup

Irish Independent

19-05-2025

It gave him a four under par total of 140 and he finished four shots ahead of Co Louth's Gerard Dunne, with another Baltray player, Gavin Tiernan, a shot further back on one over.
Tiernan had led by one shot after the first round when he was the only player to break par over Dundalk's tough championship course. He had four birdies at the third, 10th, 12th and 17th but bogeyed the fifth, 13th and 18th for a 71.
Dunne was a shot further behind on level par after an eagle three at the 12th and a birdie at the sixth and three bogeys at the third, eighth and 17th.
The two Baltray players were followed by four Dundalk members as Aidan Lawless matched Dunne's level par score with Neal MacKell on plus one, while Ben Cahill and Rafferty were on plus two.
Rafferty had two bogeys at the par five seventh and 12th and 16 pars in a birdie-free round, but he made up for the lack of birdies in the second round as he went on a charge that eventually yielded victory.
Down the front nine he had eight birdie opportunities and took three of them at the second, sixth and seventh to go out in 33 and take a one-shot lead into the back nine as Tiernan dropped three shots as a result of bogeys at the first, fifth, eighth and ninth and a birdie at the fourth.
Lawless also fell away after four bogeys on the opening nine, leaving Rafferty's playing partner Dunne to become his nearest challenger. He remained on level par thanks to back-to-back birdies at the sixth and seventh which were cancelled out by bogeys at the fifth and eighth.
Rafferty and Dunne both birdied the par five 10th and 12th to move to three under and two under respectively and they were level a hole later when Rafferty three-putted from 90 feet for bogey.
He regained the lead when he birdied the par four 15th and extended his lead to three shots at the 16th where he sank a 15ft putt for birdie, while Dunne three-putted from the back of the green for a bogey.
Both Rafferty and Dunne found the trees off the tee on the last, but the Dundalk man managed to save his par, while Dunne bogeyed to finish on level par, four shots behind Rafferty.
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Tiernan took third on one over after a second round 74, while Dundalk youngster Ben Cahill and James O'Rourke from Naas finished on two over.
The win gives Rafferty his sixth victory in the competition and a massive confidence boost ahead of the defence of his East of Ireland Championship in Baltray over the June Bank Holiday weekend.
Final standings
May 18 Dundalk Scratch Cup sponsored by One Finance – 140 - Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) 74, 66; 144 - Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth) 72, 72; 145 - Gavin Tiernan (Co. Louth) 71, 74; 146 - Ben Cahill (Dundalk) 74, 72; James O'Rourke (Naas) 74, 72; 149 - Jamie Kelly (Ardee) 76, 73. Round 1 Gross: Aidan Lawless (Dundalk) 72. Round 2 Gross: Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) 70. Overall Nett: 143 - Peter Durnin (Dundalk) 73, 70.