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Irish Examiner
7 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Ireland amateurs fall short in European bronze medal match
Ireland battled hard but were defeated by England in the bronze medal match at the European Amateur Team Championship in Killarney Golf & Fishing Club. While at the same time Italy were crowned champions after a phenomenal 6-1 victory over Denmark in the final played in sweltering heat. Ireland did secure a precious bronze at the European Girls' Team Championship, with a fantastic 4-3 comeback win against Germany in Slaley Hall, however it wasn't to be for the men. Ireland came so close to booking their place in an historic home final, when they lost to a rejuvenated Denmark side on Friday afternoon, and having lost the morning foursomes 2-0 to England, it looked set to be another tough result. But the hosts piled on the pressure in the afternoon with Stuart Grehan winning his match 5&3 against Daniel Hayes before Matt McClean finished off Eliot Baker on a 6&5 scoreline. England looked in trouble but they came roaring back and Tyler Weaver defeated Thomas Higgins by 1 hole. John Doyle continued his stunning week with a 19th hole win over Luke Poulter but Charlie Forster's brilliant pitch on the 19th hole of his tie with Caolan Rafferty, sealed Ireland's fate. Meanwhile, the Italians had a comprehensive victory over the Danes with former professional, and team coach Alberto Benaghi, thrilled to see his passionate side come out on top. 'It's almost indescribable. We are very, very proud of what we did, especially when we play in Ireland with such a history in golf. To win on this course and to win in such style, because we really played great yesterday against England and very, very good today,' said Benaghi. 'Today we were really unstoppable so I am very proud of my team. We really enjoyed every single moment. 'The foursomes this morning gave us a lot of strength. After 2-0 you have the responsibility of winning so you can feel the pressure but we played so good that we were very convinced that we could do the job. 'Sport has to be like this, you have to have passion, obviously when you win you celebrate more but you have to live sport like that, something that is coming from the heart.' Italy laid the platform for a dominant afternoon when Giovanni Binaghi and Biagio Andrea Gagliardi teamed up for an impressive 5&4 win. The other morning foursomes match also went the way of the Italians with Filippo Ponzano and Michele Ferrero accounting for their opponents on a 3&2 scoreline. The Danes were still dangerous, having bounced back from a 2-0 deficit against Ireland on Friday to secure their place in the final, but they couldn't replicate those heroics. Instead, Italy pressed on and Riccardo Fantinelli won the top match 2&1. Two more points followed from Ferrero and Ponzano and Italy were crowned champions of Europe. Elsewhere in Flight A, Sweden beat Finland 3-2 and France got the better of Germany 4.5 to 0.5. Switzerland won Flight B, while there were also wins for Poland, Iceland and Czech Republic.


Irish Examiner
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Ireland move into Euro semi-final after emphatic win in Killarney
Ireland will go in search of their first final appearance at the European Amateur Team Championship since 2014 after Stuart Grehan secured the all-important third point of the singles on Thursday to take a 5-2 victory over defending champions Sweden in Killarney. There was double joy too for Ireland, as the Girls' team have also made it through to the semi-finals of their European Girls' Team Championship in Slaley Hall, defeating England by the same scoreline. They face Italy in Friday's semi-final. In the Men's competition, the sides shared the spoils in the morning foursomes as Grehan and Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) defeated Simon Hovdal and Daniel Svard on the 18th hole with Grehan holing the winning birdie, before Alfons Bondesson and Jakob Melin secured a 2&1 victory over Matt McClean and John Doyle. The first point of the singles would go the way of Matt McClean as he brushed aside the disappointment of the morning defeat in some style. The Malone golfer carding four birdies across his back nine to take control and win his match on the 14th hole, 5&4. Having sat out the morning foursomes, Amateur Championship runner up, Gavin Tiernan would quickly tag on Ireland's second point, coming from two behind to take a 2up lead on the 15th hole before sealing victory on the 16th as Sweden's Melin conceded the hole and put Ireland just one point away from victory. While points one and two had come from the second and third matches of the afternoon, it would be match one where the decider would be won. Grehan, who has led his team out all week, would find himself one down after six holes but fought back, taking wins on the 7th and 10th to turn the deficit around but only briefly as Hovdal immediately answered back, taking the eleventh hole before the Tullamore native once again took control with wins on 14 and 16 handing Grehan a 2up lead going down the 17th. From there Grehan would go on to close out the win for the Irish team much to the delight of team captain Damien Coyne. 'Really good performance all day and especially this afternoon. Really strong performance so delighted and looking forward to tomorrow already. A really good performance against a really strong team,' said Coyne. 'Hopefully we'll get through tomorrow and build up for a really exciting day on Saturday here then, hopefully we'll get a few supporters around the place, and it will be a fun day.' With The Open Championship teeing up in Royal Portrush next week the six strong Irish team will hope to channel the memories of 2008 and 2007, when two former Open champions, Shane Lowry (2008 & 2007) and Rory McIlroy (2007) were a part of the victorious Irish team on those occasions. Ireland now face Denmark, who came through a titanic battle with Germany on Thursday afternoon. The Danes won on the 21st hole in match three to book their place in the semi-final. On the other end of the draw, England continued their impressive form with a 6-1 victory over Finland before Italy came through 4.5-2.5 against France. In the ladies event in Chantilly, Ireland suffered a narrow 4-3 defeat to Sweden.