Earlier this year the ladies branch lost one of its longest serving members when Miss Margaret Cowdy passed away. Margaret founded the Cowdy Cup and invented its format and she also longed for Lurgan to bring the trophy home. The last time Lurgan reached the final was way back in 2010 when Lurgan lost to Armagh. It is perhaps fitting then, that this year the Cowdy team led by Captain Susan McMorrow have reached the final.
The road to the final has been an eventful one. In the first round Lurgan faced Armagh and in the second round Edenmore. These matches were extremely competitive and had nail-biting finishes, with both of them coming down to the 18th hole in each match. The semi-final was no less dramatic with the team facing Killymoon. In the first leg the team acquired 9&1/2 points leaving themselves with a great deal to do on the return leg, but much to the joy of the team and supporters, they played some great golf to clinch their final place. Perhaps it was Captain Susan's promise to take everyone to Cafolla's for ice cream that did the trick! The Cowdy Cup format is quite a challenge. The team, (handicap range from 12-20), play six matches in each round on a home and away basis with four points available for each match, one for the front nine, one for the back nine and two for the match. This year no shots were given and in total over all the rounds, ten players have battled their nerves and mustered their best golf to get the team through to the final.
So the team will now face Malone Golf Club in the final which will be played at the neutral venue of Killymoon GC on Thursday 12th September with the first tee off at 2.40pm. The final is decided on one match, so the team would love to have as much support as possible for this match which no doubt will turn out to be another thriller.
Hopefully Margaret will be looking down from above, delighted that Lurgan has reached another final and willing us to finally get that trophy back to Lurgan.
Cowdy Cup Squad 2019 :
Orla O'Dowd, Pam Morrow, Sarah Denver, Jacqui Jones, Katie Allen, Dianne Patterson, Gwen McCracken, Sheena McStay, Katrina Bradford, Anne Knox
