Swelled head for Fred!

THE hazards of sport are obvious. Injuries and mishaps are part and parcel of most games, but the leisurely pursuit of golf doesn"t often feature in the highlight reel of bone crunching incidents or accidents. That is unless the cameras were rolling at Headfort on Sunday for the President"s Prize. A bizarre incident happened while club captain Fred Reilly was sitting at the 15th observing his playing partner Conor Sherry teeing-off. Out of the blue a wayward shot to the adjoining 11th green struck Reilly on the head and rendered him unconscious. However, instead of taking advanatge of the course ranger and his buggy to execute a quick shift to the hospital, Reilly dusted himself down, regained his composure with the help of playing partners, Sherry and Colm Mongey and continued on to par the 15th hole and even more remarkably win the President"s (Paddy Smyth) prize. Not only did he par the 15th, he also had seven other pars and a superb birdie on the par five seventh to finish with a nett score of 66, two clear of Darren Kearney in second place. 'I had hit a very good drive to the 15th, sat down while Conor was teeing up and next thing I was on the ground with the lads looking down at me,' said Reilly. Reilly"s victory was the second time that a current club captain has won the President"s Prize in Headfort.