Modest Berehaven created a piece of Munster golfing history when they beat Shannon 3-2 to win the AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield and their first Munster pennant.

The little nine-hole course in west Cork has just over 100 members and they were thrilled to come out on top at Killarney’s idyllic Mahony’s Point course.

Captained by Joe O’Neill, they started in impressive fashion with a 4-1 semi-final win over a strong Tramore team as Shannon defeated Fota Island by the same score.

Berehaven, having never won a blue pennant were determined to make the most of their opportunity and having beaten Killarney on the final great at Mahony’s Point in an earlier round, they knew what they had to do

Skipper O’Neill stuck with the same semi-final pairings and that paid off as Berehaven got the better of the early exchanges and led through the front nine. 

As the matches reached the final few holes Brendan O’Driscoll and Seamus Spicer in the third match brought home the first point with a 4&3 win, but Shannon quickly levelled it with a win on the 18th from PJ Moroney and James Corry. 

David Kelly and Chris Downey added a second point for the Cork side but again Shannon levelled with Keith Buckley and Adrian Carew winning 2&1 on the 17th green. 

With the match at 2-2 all eyes turned to the 15th where Berehaven were four up.  Shannon’s Joe Finlay and Pat McHugh weren’t prepared to roll over and a birdie on the short par four extended the match. 

Shannon finally ran out of holes when Lorcan Harrington rolled his eagle putt to within two-putt distance. That meant a certain birdie for a half and the match was sportingly conceded.

After the unusual sight of waves and elbow bumps replacing the normal celebrations, Berehaven were delighted to take the AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield and the Munster pennant back to west Cork for the first time.

AIG Jimmy Bruen Shield, Munster Finals, Killarney GC (Mahony’s Point)

Final

Berehaven 3, Shannon 2

1. Declan Dunne/Luke O’Sullivan lost to P J Moroney/James Corry 2 up

2. David Kelly/Chris Downey bt Kevin Stanford/David Jones 3/2

3. Brendan O’Driscoll/Seamus Spencer bt Christopher Willets/Paul O’Connor 4/3

4. Craig Murphy/Liam Hanley lost to Keith Buckley/Adrian Carew 2/1

5. Lorcan Harrington/Dean Hegarty bt Joe Finlay/Pat McHugh 3/2

Semi-finals

Berehaven 4, Tramore 1

1. Declan Dunne/Luke O’Sullivan bt Neill Cashin/JP O’Brien 1up

2. David Kelly/Chris Downey bt Darragh Crowe/David Jackman 3/1

3. Brendan O’Driscoll/Seamus Spencer v Martin Walsh/Jerry Higgins - called in

4. Craig Murphy/Liam Hanley v Chris Gormley/Thomas Brett - called in

5. Lorcan Harrington/Dean Hegarty bt Kevin Doyle/Joe Manning 4/3
   

Shannon 4, Fota Island 1

1. PJ Moroney/James Corry bt Barry Doyle/John Doyle 4/2

2. Kevin Stanford/David Jones bt Sam Hogan/Ben O’Connell 3/2

3. Adam McMahon/Murty O’Donoghue v Evan O’Connell/Jack Singleton - called in

4. Keith Buckley/Adrian Carew bt Adam Luddy/Paul Hayes 7/6

5. Joe Finlay/Pat McHugh v John Howard/Matthew Kelleher - called in