Rathfarnham’s Castle Golf Club crowned Barton Cup winners for third time

First played in 1905, when Bray were crowned champions, the event is one of the most popular in Leinster golf and there was great rejoicing at Castle after they added a third win to their triumphs in 1941 and 2015 with a victory over County Meath in the two-legged decider.

Castle began their run to the final in this year’s competition with a 3-2 win over Greystones in the quarter-finals and went on to defeat near neighbours Rathfarnham 3.5-1.5 in the semi-finals.

County Meath beat Westmanstown and Edenderry, both 3-2, to advance to the final which was played on 29 September and 13 October.

Castle won the draw to decide on the venue for the first leg and opted to play the first five matches at home.

In challenging windy conditions for both teams Castle had a slender 3-2 lead going into the second leg in Trim.

Both sets of managers made a small number of changes to their line ups for the showdown and with much calmer conditions, the large crowd of supporters that turned up were treated to some fantastic match play golf played a very sporting manner.

Co. Meath won the first match on the 17th to tie the overall score at 3 to 3 however the middle three pairings from Castle each secured a point to reach the magical six points and be crowned Barton Cup champions for the third time in the Club’s history.

The Barton Cup was first competed for in 1905 and 134 clubs entered this years competition.

Following this year’s win, Castle joins an elite group of just nine clubs that have won the trophy on three occasions or more.

The Castle panel ranged in age from 15 to 70 and with handicaps ranging from +2.3 to 16.4, highlighting the Barton Cup’s status as a competition for all.