2007 Bled Golf & Country Club, Slovenia - European Men's Senior Championship
Bled Golf & Country Club in Slovenia, was a beautiful setting for the second European Seniors' Team Championships.
This tight tree-lined course set in picturesque surrounds with the magnificent Alps as a backdrop played host to this prestigious Championship for the first time.
After the first day’s strokeplay qualifying, Ireland lay in third place and still had work to do in order to guarantee a place in the first flight of four teams for the Match Play stages.
England led the qualifying on day one with a team score of 371, followed by Scotland on 372, Ireland on 382 with Spain on 383, and France on 387 still in the hunt. Day two saw a much improved Irish performance with Hugh Smyth from the Mourne G.C. and Seamus McParland from Greenore G.C. both shooting two under par and Val Smyth from Laytown and Bettystown one under. Ireland improved by 19 strokes on their opening day total to qualify in second place behind Scotland.
 |
This first day of Match Play saw Ireland face England in the Semi-Final. Killiney’s Nigel Duke, making his Irish Debut, and Val Smyth won their foursomes match 2/1. Hugh Smyth won his singles match by 5/4 and Tony Goode, one up playing the 18th, holed a tricky four-footer to win the match and secure victory for Ireland by three matches to two. In the other semi-final Scotland had a comfortable 4.5/0.5 victory over France.
Nigel Duke and Jerry McSweeney (Captain KGC 2007)
This meant Ireland would play Scotland in the final for the second year in a row, giving them a chance to revenge the 2006 result when the Irish team were narrowly defeated by the Scots in Finland.
Nigel Duke and Val Smyth were narrowly beaten in the foursomes, and Seamus McParland lost in the singles, but victories in the singles matches by Lucan's Tony Goode who won 5/4 and Maurice Kelly from Killeen G.C. by 3/2 left the match tied at 2-2. It was then up to Hugh Smyth who was one down on the 17th tee.
 |
Smyth staged a great fight-back to level the match on the 18th before going on to clinch the title for Ireland at the third tie hole.
The first tie hole was halved in par fours. The par five second hole saw the most dramatic golf of the week. Smyth found trouble with his second shot and came up 25 feet short of the green with his third, while his opponent, Stephen Ellis, was safely on the green in regulation. Smyth's fourth shot hit the hole and came to rest ten feet from the pin. Ellis safely two putted for his par but Smyth rolled in his putt to keep the match alive.
On the third tie hole, a tricky par three, Ellis found trouble off the tee and Smyth sealed victory for Ireland with a regulation par.