Well it's that time of the year again - the County Strokeplay is upon us this Sunday. As always, as the days draw nearer to the event, all chat directs towards who will be this years champions. Everyone has an opinion as does the author of this piece but in reality nobody knows. Nevertheless, it adds to the fun to speculate so here goes!

The Championships kick off this year with the Juniors and for the first time there will be a 3rd round play-off in this grade. It has to be said that it's a superb entry in the Junior section this year with no less that 33 competitors. A big part of this entry comes from the host club Lough Owel and its refreshing to see so many new names and faces coming from a club that is going from strength to strength under the guidance of Davy Corcoran and his crew.

As we look through the list though the red hot favourite to jump off the page has been this year's sensation - the young Jonathon Daly from Rochfortbridge. This man has hit the Westmeath Pitch and Putt scene by storm this year. He has recently won the junior prize in both Collinstown and Kilbeggan scratch cup as well as qualifying for the National Matchplay Finals. He is also in contention for a debut on Westmeath's Inter-County team. This will no doubt be his last outing as a junior after his win in Kilbeggan last week and its very difficult to see anyone stopping him from taking the Junior Strokeplay title on Sunday.

As always though there are names that can put in a decent challenge for the crown. Lough Owel being such a specialist course, you would have to fear anyone from the home club but the 3 names that stand out as front-runners would be the defending champion, Derek McKevitt, County Board Vice-Chairman, James Corcoran and the wily campaigner Charlie Matthews. 2009 champion Stuart Tarleton from Collinstown is also a contender and if gets his putter going then he could go very close indeed. Also Mick Heffernan from Collinstown is playing great stuff at the moment. The fact that it is un-chartered territory for the Juniors in that it's a 54 hole competition this year, leaves the result difficult to predict but someone is going to have to play very well to beat Daly in my opinion.

The Intermediate section is one of the most competitive in recent years. Mention must go to the lone qualifier for the Leinster Matchplay, Martin Carter. Although the length of Lough Owel would not necessarily suit Martin's game, his competitive nature will, more than make up for this. I predict a podium finish at least on Sunday for the Collinstown man. Former Champion Davy Reddin will again no doubt challenge to regain his title and a final round spot is a definite for this man. Another Custume man in with a great shout is the former senior player Damien Mullins. Damien is a very skilled player and is not afraid to shoot very low scores if the opportunity presents. A man that has been at the top of the Intermediate grade for a number of years now is Pat "POP" Stevens. He is a seasoned campaigner and again there is no doubt he will make the play-off and come very close to the winners enclosure Sunday evening. Former Lough Owel players Tom Archbold and Kevin Farrell will also be in the frame this Sunday and they both have the experience and know-how to go all the way. There are also players like Mick Malone, Liam Hetherton and Willie Archbold, who, although they are not playing as much as they did in years gone by, all have the skill to put in a big challenge on Sunday. As I said - this grade is very tough to call but I'm going to stick my neck out and predict the top 3 but not in any order - Martin Carter, Damien Mullins and Tom Archbold.

And so to the Ladies. The Senior section in the ladies has been dominated over the last decade by a certain Liz Quinn. Liz has now won 9 Strokeplay titles in a row and is going for an amazing 10^th this year. This is not a foregone conclusion though by any means. Liz by her own admission was very lucky to win in a close contest last year from Miriam Sheerin and no doubt Miriam will be looking to reverse that this year. Helen Hyland will also be a contender and I see the winner coming from one of these 3 although the remaining ladies are capable of an upset if they hit top form.

The Ladies second grade continues to be a disappointing entry each year but having said that, you could make a case for any of the 4 Ladies that have entered to win it. Defending champion Kathleen Carton won't want to let here title go easily though and is probably my favourite to win it again.

And so to the Senior Gents. As always, it is very hard to pick a winner from a group of very accomplished Pitch and Putt players, each one having every right to think they have the game to win this title on Sunday. The only way to predict is on recent form and past history. For this reason, the three names that rise to the top of the list, are the 3 men that battled out the closing stages of the same competition on the same course last year, namely, defending champion, Ronan Whelan (chasing a third successive title this year), Pat Malone and Niall Cuffe. Of these 3 you would have to say that Pat Malone is the in-form player at the moment. He recently won Custume Scratch Cup and led Collinstown scratch cup after 36 holes, he is also top of the table in the Inter-County trials at the moment. He must have a great chance to win his first county title on Sunday. Ronan Whelan will not give up his opportunity to win 3 in-a-row without a fight though. He played superbly last year in the final round to equal the course record and retain his title and although he has had a quiet start to the season, he showed glimpses of a return to form last Sunday in Kilbeggan. Then there's the "Ice-Man" Niall Cuffe - former National Champion and back in the game with as much passion for it as he ever had. Niall is a solid performer that has done it on the highest stage and I expect him to be in the shake-up again on Sunday evening.

Outside of these 3 you would have to look again to recent form and no one has been more consistent in recent weeks than Harry O'Hanlon. Harry's return to the Westmeath scene after 2 years away seems to have co-insided with a return to his best form. He is looking very secure in the trials table and is consistently returning excellent scores over the last month. Another man that's in good form at the moment is Collinstown's Larry McGinn. Larry has in recent years developed into a very dangerous player who can find a score regardless of course or conditions - don't be surprised to see him lift the cup on Sunday evening. And when talking about men in form, there is no one more so than Martin Kenny, following his superb win at the Kilbeggan scratch cup. Martin is an experienced campaigner and there is very few better at making par from difficult positions, a tool that will be very useful in Lough Owel Sunday No disrespect to the rest of the Senior field on Sunday but it is my belief that our champion will come from the 6 names above and if you want me to pick an outright winner.........................naaaaaaaa - I'm not that silly!!

Lets hope it's a fabulous championship and good luck to all!