Royal Portrush golfer Hannah Lee-McNamara has been crowned Bridgestone Women’s Order of Merit champion after a nail-biting finish to the season.
In an incredibly tight campaign, five different players held the lead in the Women’s Order of Merit, with Lee-McNamara eventually edging out Ella Cantwell (Esker Hills) by just two points.
Lee-McNamara began her campaign with a sixth-place finish at the Flogas Irish Women’s Amateur Open Championship, putting herself just outside the top 10 in the early stages of the season.
A tied second-place finish at the West of Ireland Women’s Amateur Open Championship immediately put her in contention, as Lee-McNamara climbed inside the top three.
Further gains came at the North of Ireland Women’s Amateur Open, where she finished tied third, before she finally took the lead following a run to the final of the AIG Irish Women’s Amateur Close Championship in July.
That runner-up finish earned Lee-McNamara 250 points, moving her from fifth to first and leaving just one event remaining on the calendar.
Lee-McNamara came into the Dun Laoghaire Scratch Cup with a slender 32-point advantage over Cantwell.
Despite finishing as runner-up to the Esker Hills golfer at the Dublin venue, her second-place finish was enough to clinch the Order of Merit title by just two points, with a winning total of 1,065 points.
Cantwell enjoyed a remarkable season of her own, which included wins at the Dun Laoghaire Scratch Cup and the inaugural West of Ireland Women’s Amateur Open, but ultimately had to settle for second place.
Shannon Burke (Ballinrobe), Olivia Costello (Roscommon) and Aideen Walsh (Lahinch) rounded out the top five.
Both the Women’s and Men’s Bridgestone Order of Merit titles are now decided, with Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth) claiming the men’s title.
Gerard Dunne in action.
In another brilliant season on the Irish amateur circuit, Dunne recorded tied third place finishes at the Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship and the East of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open Championship, as well as a sixth-place finish at the North of Ireland Men’s Amateur Open.
A runner-up finish at the Ulster Men’s Stroke Play and a run to the last 32 at the South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship helped Dunne secure a total of 798 points, finishing 52 points ahead of David Howard (Fota Island) to claim his first Bridgestone Men’s Order of Merit title.