Irish inflict heavy defeat on UK
Not since Dana pushed Mary Hopkins into second place at the 1970 Eurovision song contest have the Irish inflicted such a heavy defeat on the UK. The inaugural golf match, titled ‘The Celtic Cup’, between the two countries’ travel industries ended with the UK ‘greenwashed’ by the team from Ireland in what can only be described as an embarrassment for the team in white.
Despite the pre-match rhetoric, it was the players from the Emerald isle who took the honours at a tough but fair Mount Juliet course in Kilkenny.
Six four balls set off in ideal playing conditions on the course that Tiger Woods described as having ‘perfect fairways… and the best greens we have putted on all year’.
The UK team found it difficult to find the fairways and loved the greens so much they took extra shots on them as pairing after pairing returned to the clubhouse with their putters between their legs.
Captain of the UK team Greg Evans lamented over his team’s display. "We have been beaten by a far superior team today.
"In Golf the handicap system should lead to a closer result but such was the respective levels of play by both teams it was never a true contest. It’s enough to make you want to go cry into your beer."
Captain Dawson (extreme right) celebrates victory
Evans team colleagues took him at his word as the post-match ‘celebrations’ started early and finished late.
Victorious Irish skipper Pat Dawson revelled in his team’s performance and the prospect of the next year’s match "We are delighted to have won today and look forward to this becoming an annual event where we hope ‘all kinds of everything’ will remind us of this day." The spirit of Dana burns brightly for Team Ireland.
With the UK hosting the 2017 match, probably in Wales, they will be hoping for a better performance. "We are planning to run this event at the same time next year but with today’s disastrous level of play I will have to look closely at team selection," said Evans, who is considering a non-playing Ryder Cup-type role next time round.
Captain Evans rewinds defeat
The one bright spot for the UK was the quality of playing attire as the shirts were sponsored by the very supportive Expedia and Meet AC.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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