Mayo club reach historic All-Ireland final after cliffhanger

Castlebar Golf Club has reached the final of the Flogas All-Ireland mixed fourball championship in its first season.

The county town team sealed their place at Oughterard GC, Co. Galway, this evening after a dramatic penultimate round triumph over Belvoir Park, Belfast.

After the four matches ended 2-2 apiece, the pairing of Mark Corrigan and Margaret Tighe were handed the task of deciding the cliffhanger in a play-off against John Lindsay and Sian Henry.

However, the Castlebar duo did so with supreme confidence, having defeated Lindsay and Henry by 5 and 4 in their earlier duel over 18 holes.

And, as expected, Corrigan and Tighe emerged victorious on the first play-off hole to secure Castlebar spot in the final.

Castlebar will now face Woodstock, Co. Clare, tomorrow at 10 a.m. on the challenging Oughterard course.

Woodstock booked their place in the decider by overcoming top Leinster side Portlaoise.

Despite going one-up during the four-match clash thanks to Corrigan and Tighe, Castlebar fell 2-1 behind after the pairings of John Kelly and Derval Molloy and Johan Collins and Gina Kelly lost their encounters.

That turned the spotlight on the final match between Gary Canny and Deirdre Moylette (Castlebar) and Neil McGivern and Celine Keenan (Belvoir Park).

While Castlebar pair had been on control of the match for long periods, they were taken to the 17th green before a two-up winning result in their favour was declared, thus confirming the need for a play-off.

Achill Golf Club were also brought to a play-off in the semi-final of their Flogas All-Ireland Mixed Foursomes match against Malahide before losing out in heartbreaking fashion.

Michael Scanlon and Julie Hassett and David Ryder and Jackie Kennedy had secured wins for the islanders to force the play-off.