Knightly lords it on day of shocks at Royal Portrush
Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) Picture © Thos Caffrey / www.golffile.ie
Defending champion Arron Edwards-Hill and leading qualifier Joshua Hill crashed out on a day of shocks in the North of Ireland Amateur Open at Royal Portrush.
Royal Dublin’s Richard Knightly, a player in fine form, defeated Edwards-Hill by one hole before he came from behind to defeat Tandragee’s Ross Dutton on the 19th and set up a last 16 clash with Douglas’ Peter O’Keeffe.
“The match against Arron this morning was a ridiculous standard,” Knightly said. “Both of us were well under par. The last six holes were all won with a birdie. He was the reigning champion for a reason, so I was delighted to get the win.
“I played solid this afternoon, and Ross played very well. I lost a ball on 10 and that swung it in his favour until the 18th. I hit a super wedge to six feet on 19 for the win.”
Hill was eliminated by Mullingar’s Adam Smith in round two on a day when only two of the top 16 from strokeplay qualifying survived.
North of Ireland Amateur Open, Royal Portrush
Round two
Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) bt Ross Dutton (Tandragee) 19th
Peter O'Keeffe (Douglas) bt Lorcan O’Connor (Edmondstown) 19th
David Kitt (Athenry) bt Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) 5&3
Paul Coughlan (Castleknock) bt Charlie Denvir (Elm Park) 2&1
Alex Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown) bt Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock) 3&2
Darragh Flynn (Carton House) bt David Marshall Jnr (Naas)
Andrew McCormack (Castletroy) bt Thomas Finnegan (Co. Sligo) 19th
Adam Smith (Mullingar) bt Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle) 3&2
Michael Reid (Galgorm Castle) bt Gareth Lappin (Belvoir Park) 3&1
John Cleary (Elm Park) bt Joseph Byrne (Baltinglass) 3&1
Robert Galligan (Elm Park) bt Jordan Boles (Charleville) 3&1
Chris Black (Dunmurry) bt James Hewitt (Tandragee) 3&1
Shaun Carter (Royal Dublin) bt Sean McAufield (Ardee) 6&4
Joshua Robinson (Lisburn) bt Jack McDonnell Forrest Little) 1 hole
Max Kennedy (Royal Dublin) bt Liam Nolan (Galway) 3&1
Sean Keeling (Roganstown) bt Jamie Stothers Tandragee) 2 holes
Round one
Ross Dutton (Tandragee) bt Keaton Morrison (Royal Portrush)) 1 Hole
Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) bt Arron Edwards-Hill (Chelmsford) 1 Hole
Peter O'Keeffe (Douglas) bt Aaron Kearney (Roe Park) 6&4
Lorcan O’Connor (Edmondstown) bt Jack Owens (Bangor) 4&3
David Kitt (Athenry) bt Damian McKenna (Foyle) 2&1
Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) bt Luke O'Neill (Connemara) 2&1
Paul Coughlan (Castleknock) bt Max Berrisford (Shipley) 5&3
Charlie Denvir (Elm Park) bt Patrick Keeling (Roganstown) 1 Hole
Alex Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown) bt Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth) 3&2
Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock) bt Adam Cromwell (Co. Armagh) 3&2
David Marshall Jnr (Naas) bt Jack Shellard (Lisburn) 1 Hole
Darragh Flynn (Carton House) Jake Rowe (Tandragee) 2 Holes
Andrew McCormack (Castletroy) bt Conor Ryan (Dun Laoghaire) 4&3
Thomas Finnegan (Co. Sligo) bt Joshua McCabe (Roganstown) 4&3
Adam Smith (Mullingar) bt Jake Whelan (Grange) 3&2
Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle) bt Niall Bermingham (Howth) 6&5
Michael Reid (Galgorm Castle) bt Adam McCormick (Scrabo) 20th
Gareth Lappin (Belvoir Park) bt Hugh O'Hare (Fortwilliam) 3&1
Joseph Byrne (Baltinglass) bt Evan Farrell (Ardee) 2&1
John Cleary (Elm Park) bt Aaron Marshall (Lisburn) 4&3
Robert Galligan (Elm Park) bt Ben Best (Rathmore) 1 Hole
Jordan Boles (Charleville) bt Rian Carvill (Warrenpoint) 2&1
James Hewitt (Tandragee) bt Andrew Hickey (Galway Bay) 3&2
Chris Black (Dunmurry) bt Jack Blake (The Island) 3&2
Sean McAufield (Ardee) bt Conor Murtagh (The Island) 3&1
Shaun Carter (Royal Dublin) bt Lachlan Reynolds (Rothesay) 21st
Joshua Robinson (Lisburn) bt John Robinson (Ballymena) 5&3
Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little) bt Joseph Hanney (The Island) 5&4
Liam Nolan (Galway) bt Shane Irwin (Killeen) 4&3
Max Kennedy (Royal Dublin) bt Jack Doherty (Carton House) 1 Hole
Jamie Stothers (Tandragee) bt Jack Egan (Muskerry) 4&3
Sean Keeling (Roganstown) bt Stephen Cunningham (Esker Hills) 6&4
