Big hitter Kieran Dunne clinched the main prize at Mark Browne’s Captain’s Day at Castle Hume Golf Club on Saturday, his fantastic 64 nett securing him the title ahead of Dermott Gallagher who finished second with Mark Beckett taking third spot.

Captain Mark Browne was delighted with the entire day.

“I was very pleased with how everything went, it couldn’t have gone any better. There was a bit of rain in the morning but it cleared up for the rest of the day and we had some great golf with an excellent winning score of 64 on a golf course that was set up difficult. This was followed by a great night which everyone seemed to enjoy and I would just like to thank everybody who helped to make it a good day,” commented Mark.

The golfers competing on the day where treated to a superbly manicured course due to hard work of Kevin Nolan and the rest of the green keeping staff.

Captain Mark must have feared the worst as a heavy mid-morning shower passed over the fairways of Castle Hume but thankfully the rain past although the wind did get up for the afternoon players.

Keeping with tradition the competition was a stroke play event and it was Dunne who was to eventually take the captain’s prize for 2015. Since joining Castle Hume, Kieran’s golf has shown steady improvement and the big man played the front nine hitting four pars and nothing worse than a bogey. The back nine started with back to back pars, a birdie at the 14th and pars at 15 and 17 helped Kieran seal the win and one of the major titles of the year.

In second place, narrowly missing out with a nett 65, was Dermott Gallagher. The Ulster Cup stalwart played a front nine which included six pars, reaching the turn three over. The highlight of the back nine for Dermott was a birdie at the 14th but an uncharacteristic double bogey at the difficult 15th surely cost Dermott the title. In third place was low man Mark Beckett with a 66 nett. The four handicapper played the front nine one under par and must have fancied his chances but a double to start the back pushed Mark down the leaderboard and ensured he had to settle for third on this occasion. A full list of the prize winners are as follows.

1st Prize Kieran Dunne 64 nett 2nd Prize Dermott Gallgher 65 nett 3rd Prize Mark Beckett 66 nett 4th Prize Ryan Bell 66 nett GROSS Danny Daly 69 gross Past Captain Pat Duffy 69 nett Committee Prize Peter Fivey 73 nett (bb9) 1st Guest Eamon Rasdale (Clogher Valley) 31 pts 2nd Guest Billy Reynolds (Clogher Valley) 29 pts Ladies Guest Roisin Henry 34 pts Front Nine Martin Carney 31.5 nett Back Nine Dermot Burns 31 nett Nearest The Pin Martin Clifford Longest Drive Richard Moore 1st Ladies Lilly O’Connell 40 2nd Ladies Jenny Boyd 37 3rd Ladies Mary Sloan 37.

After the golf was over there was a superb meal served in the Castle Hume restaurant by Chef Noel McMeel of the Lough Erne and Castle Hume chef Angelo.

When the prizes had all been handed out it was down to Captain Mark to make his customary speech. Mark thanked all involved in making his day a resounding success including Kevin and the greenkeepers, Roy and the bar staff, Jeanette and the restaurant staff, Sean Donnelly Castle Hume Pro and all committee members.

Mark had his family circle helping him celebrate the big day and saved a special word of thanks for his wife Pauline who had always given him her full support.

Mark also made reference to the news that the resort had new owners and that he looked forward to working together on ideas to keep Castle Hume the great club it is. Captain Mark welcomed Mr Mark Ward, representing the new owners, and invited him to say a few words.

Mr Ward reiterated what club captain Mark had said and assured everyone that he would be working to keep both golf courses in top condition.

The night then continued with music by resident DJ Seamus (Big Tommy). The partying and dancing went on until the wee small hours with everyone commenting on the fantastic day they had.