WEST DOWN'S Cecil Dillon lifted the Irish men's singles title in Richhill Recreation Centre last weekend.
A member of the St Joseph's, Poyntzpass club, the local dairy farmer got home by five shots against Cookstown Parochial's Colm McHugh who was attempting to complete a clean sweep of Irish titles.
Dillon has enjoyed great success on the SMPT European tour having won two Swedish Masters titles and the English Masters but this was his breakthrough on the home front. A real conidence booster for his chances in the World Masters being played in Belfast later this month.
Shane Hand refuses to surrender the junior singles title. The Corduff player recorded his fifth success in the competition when he proved too strong for Rathfriland's Jack Moffett who lost by eight shots.
Winners of the fours in 2011 the Morrison family of 1st Aghoghill Pres repeated the feat when brothers David, William, Andrew and father Tom defeated Mark Beattie's Foyle rink 8-6. Ballinderry's Gordon and Raymond Stubbs and Paul Reid overcame another brotherly combination Ryan Philip and Adrian McKeown from Mossley.
There was a county Down success in the pairs when Alan Johnston and Eugene Morgan of St Michael's, Dundrum finished five shots ahead of another duo of brothers Graham and Stephen Kennedy of Largy.
Drum's Linda Carleton, a former ladies singles champion, had a day to forget. Playing with clubmate Maureen Howe in the pairs, they lost out by three shots to Pauline Beattie and her mother May Cassells of St Mark's, Portadown. Carleton was also out of luck in the ladies singles decider only losing to Clough's Eileen Forster by a single shot.
There was a turn-up in the ladies triples when Pauline Beattie and her mother were joined by her aunt Rachel lost y four shots to Limavady's Sara Johnston, Suzanne Finlay and Valerie Witherow.
