Grehan leads Irish quartet into matchplay at Spanish Amateur
Stuart Grehan during the 2016 Eisenhower Trophy in Mexico.  © USGA/Steven Gibbons

Stuart Grehan during the 2016 Eisenhower Trophy in Mexico.  © USGA/Steven Gibbons

Maynooth University's Stuart Grehan will face teammate Ronan Mullarney in the first round of the Spanish Amateur Open at El Saler on Friday.

The Tullamore man made the 32 qualifiers in second place when he added a one under 71 to his opening 73 to finish a shot behind Scotland's Christopher Maclean on level par 144 as Massereene's Tiarnan McLarnon (second overnight) withdrew

Knock's Colin Fairweather will take on England's Marco Penge as he shot 74 to finish alongside Kevin LeBlanc (74) on six-over 150. LeBlanc will meet Frenchman Arthur Ameil-Planchin.

Colm Campbell. Picture: RFEG

Colm Campbell. Picture: RFEG

Kilkenny's Mark Power was unlucky to miss out on the top 32 by a single spot though he had the satisfaction of recovering from his opening 80 with a 72.

Tramore's Robin Dawson also finished on 152 after rounds of 75 and 77.

As for the rest of the Irish, it was a disappointing week, especially for Walker Cup panellists Conor O’Rourke, Colm Campbell and Alex Gleeson.

Spanish Amateur Open, El Saler (Par 72)

Qualifiers (Top 32)

Full scores

1 143 Christopher Maclean (Sco) 74 69

2 144 Stuart Grehan (Tullamore) 73 71

T17 150 Colin Fairweather (Knock) 76 74; Kevin LeBlanc (The Island) 76 74

T27 151 Ronan Mullarney (Galway) 76 75

Cut

T33 152 Mark Power (Kilkenny) 80 72; Robin Dawson (Tramore) 75 77

T47 154 Conor O’Rourke (Naas) 77 77

T54 155 Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint) 74 81

T63 157 John Ross Galbraith (Whitehead) 81 76

T71 158 Alex Gleeson (Castle) 80 78 

T81 160 Sean Flanagan (Co Sligo) 81 79; Jordan Hood 81 80; Jonathan Yates (Naas) 79 82

RET Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) 72 Ret

Round One 

Full draw

Arthur Ameil-Planchin (Fra) v Kevin LeBlanc
Marco Penge (Eng) v Colin Fairweather
Stuart Grehan v Ronan Mullarney