Knightly and Hood best in northwest wind at Lahinch
Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin). Picture Fran Caffrey / Golffile.ie
Royal Dublin’s Richard Knightly is taking nothing for granted after opening with a five-under 67 to share the first-round lead with Galgorm Castle’s Jordan Hood in qualifying for the Pierse Motors-sponsored South of Ireland Amateur Open at Lahinch.
The 34-year-old Dubliner is looking to put past heartache behind him at the pristine Co Clare links where he was a beaten semi-finalist in 2014 and at the 20th to eventual champion TJ Ford in the quarter-finals last year.
“Last year was a mad year,” Knightly said after mixing bogeys at the sixth and seventh with seven birdies in 20 mph northwest wind. “I beat two clubmates in Hugh Foley and Max Kennedy and then lost to TJ on the 20th. That’s the way it is around here. There are no easy matches. But I played well today. I had to get up and down on the first but from there I played well and holed out well from five feet all day.
“I’ve been coming here for many years and it’s a really fun week. But I have a job to do tomorrow and in the matchplay anything can happen. It’s never easy here.”
One of the most elegant and popular players on the amateur circuit, Knightly birdied the fourth and hit his approach “tight” at the sixth to go two-under. He dropped his only shot of the day when he went long at the 11th but then made birdies on the 12th, 13th, 16th and 18th to join early pace-setter Hood at the top of the leaderboard,
The Galgorm Castle man, who reached the last 16 last year, was out in the second group of the day and sandwiched bogeys at the sixth, seventh and 10th between eight birdies, including twos at the fifth and 11th and a bonus birdie at the tough 15th.
“The four o’clock alarm call didn’t help but I drove it well,” Hood said. “My iron play hasn’t been as good as last year but I am just hitting it in the middle of the fairway and it is hard to have a bad score whenever you are hitting less than eight iron into every green.
“I played the par-threes nicely going in with a lot of long irons so I hit a couple to 15-20 feet and made them and hit a really good three-iron straight into the teeth of to 25 feet to make birdie on 15, which was by far and away the toughest hole on the course. So that was like picking up a shot and a half on the field.
Knightly and Hood lead by a shot from reigning Connacht Stroke Play champion Robert Brazill from Naas and East of Ireland champion Alex Maguire from Laytown and Bettystown, who looks to be hitting the ball well again after his surprising missed cut in his defence of the North of Ireland at Royal Portrush,
“I played nicely and chipped and putted very well for a change,” said Brazill, who is slowly returning to top form after breaking the scaphoid bone in his right wrist in March 2020.
“The wind was gusting a bit it was playing tricky so you had to hit good tee shots to take advantage of the receptive greens.
I made a lovely birdie at the fifth from 25 feet to go three-under and hit a lot of good shots, missed a short putt on 12 but the game was good.
“I’m fourth in the Bridgestone Order of Merit so I’m hoping to make the top three who get automatic picks on the team for the Home Internationals. Having not played much golf by goal was to just make the Interpros so making the Irish team would be a big bonus.
Royal Dublin’s Hugh Foley, who is looking to become the first man since Darren Clarke to complete the North of Ireland-South of Ireland double since Darren Clarke in 1990, was pleased with a 69 that left him tied for fifth with Lisburn’s Joshua Robinson, Athenry’s David Kitt, Lahinch’s Stephen Loftus (who was five-under after eight) and Elm Park debutant Jake Foley.
Peter O’Keeffe is hoping his love for Lahinch will rekindle some spark in his game after he opened with a two-under-par 70 to lie three shots off the pace.
The Douglas man hit the opening tee shot, bar his run to the quarter-finals of the British Amateur at Sandwich, he’s looking to add another piece of silverware to his collection.
“My game has been a bit flat so we will see if we can get something going this week,” said O’Keeffe, who made five birdies and two bogeys.
“I am not thinking about the Home internationals or the Eisenhower Trophy team at all. They are all bonuses. I am just interested in silverware and while I have been in a semi-final and a couple of quarter-finals here, I never seem to go all the way to the finish so let’s see.
“The greens are so good here anything can happen in matchplay. The wind is the only thing because the greens are lovely and there’s not much rough.”
Defending champion Ford birdied the last two holes for a 70 while Galway international Liam Nolan joined the likes of Kennedy and former winner Caolan Rafferty on level par.
Nolan went out in five-over 41 before turning things around spectacularly by following birdies at the 12th, 13th and 14th with an eagle three at the last for a 72 that left him tied 31st on level par with the top 64 who qualify for tomorrow’s matchplay on two-over or better.
West of Ireland champion Alan Fahy from Bray was out in three-under but triple-bogeyed the 10th and dropped another shot at the 16th to open with a 73.
South of Ireland Amateur Open, sponsored by Pierse Motors Volkswagen, Lahinch GC (Par 72)
1st rd.
67 R Knightly (Royal Dublin), J Hood (Galgorm Castle);
68 A Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown GC), R Brazill (Naas);
69 J Robinson (Lisburn), H Foley (Royal Dublin), D Kitt (Athenry), S Loftus (Lahinch), J Foley (Elm Park Golf & Sports Club);
70 J Cleary (Elm Park Golf & Sports Club), K McCarron (North West), D Flynn (Carton House), J Hill (Galgorm Castle), H Fanagan (Milltown), K Morris (Wexford), A McCormack (Castletroy), T Ford (Co. Sligo), K Egan (Carton House), P O' Keeffe (Douglas), D Keating (Seapoint), C Campbell (Warrenpoint), E Farrell (Ardee), S Flanagan (Portmarnock), P Coughlan (Castleknock), J Rackard (Enniscorthy);
71 J Madden (Royal Portrush), T Dowdall (Woodbrook), P Conroy (Enniscorthy), C Denvir (Elm Park Golf & Sports Club), A King (Faithlegg);
72 A McNulty (Lahinch), R O'Connor (Co. Sligo), A Brady (Co. Sligo), J Whelan (Grange), L Nolan (Galway), J Hearn (Tramore), A Riordan (Blarney), D Hogg (Belvoir Park), M Kennedy (Royal Dublin), C Rafferty (Dundalk), D O'Sullivan (Tralee), R Latimer (Clandeboye), M Boucher (Carton House);
73 J Blake (The Island), B St. John (Portmarnock), E Sullivan (Carton House), H Gillivan (Westport), C Byrne (Strabane), J Butler (Killeen), P Sheehan (Ballybunion), D O'Riordan (Fermoy), R Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire), M Dodd (St. Anne's), J Hanney (The Island), A Collins (Laytown & Bettystown GC), A Fahy (Bray), J Walsh (Douglas), D Muldowney (Carton House), P Adler (North Shore Country Club), S O'Brien (Nenagh);
74 S McDermott (Slieve Russell), D Reddan Jnr (Nenagh), M Mullen (Rosslare), E Murphy (Dundalk), J Fox (Portmarnock), J Hewitt (Tandragee), A Dooley (Carton House), M Deasy (Douglas), R Cannon (Balbriggan), R McNelis (Fintona), S Desmond (Monkstown), G O'Flaherty (Cork), M Murphy (Clandeboye), G O'Neill (Malahide);
75 J O'Neill (Tralee), C Ryan (Bray), N Hearns (Mountrath), A McCabe (The Links Portmarnock), P O Dochartaigh (Gweedore), R Williamson (Holywood), P O'Hanlon (Carton House), G Collins (Rosslare), J McDonnell (Forrest Little), A Smith (Mullingar), L O'connor (Edmondstown), J McCabe (Roganstown), S McAufield (Ardee), T Higgins (Roscommon), Q Carew (Castleknock), S Lillis (Kilrush), C Harkin (Letterkenny), C Hickey (Dooks), A Hickey (Ballyhaunis), D Kelleher (Blarney), P Buckley (Cork);
76 R Fitzpatrick (Naas), B Keenan (The Heath), S Hogan (Nenagh), M McKinstry (Cairndhu), S O’Neill (Killarney), M O Sullivan (Ballyneety), K Robinson (Castlewarden), J Byrne (Baltinglass), P Murray (Tramore), R Walsh Jnr Douglas), J Doherty (Carton House), S McLoughlin (Co. Sligo);
77 J Greene (Portmarnock), D Shiel (Powerscourt), E Shipp (Headfort), J Lyons (Galway), R Galligan (Elm Park Golf & Sports Club), A Marshall (Lisburn), L Cunningham (Galway Bay), I Lynch (Rosslare), C Johnston (Dundalk), J O'Leary (Golf Club at Terra Lago), E Dunlea (Killarney), K Murphy (Arklow), S Hogan (The Heritage), C Kenny (Portmarnock), P McGrath (Galway Bay);
78 L Abom (Edmondstown), I O'Connell (Castleknock), M Auerbach (Bellport), J Rowe (Belvoir Park), S Murphy (Portumna), K Howard (Dromoland), F Dobbin (Malone), D Hogan (Killeen Castle), D Byrne (The Els Club Dubai)
79 P Flynn (Tramore), S Addie (Kilmarnock Barassie), S O'Rourke (Tulfarris), D Connellan (St. Anne's), K Bornemann (Douglas), C Hall (Castletroy);
80 S McDermott (Esker Hills), A McCormick (Scrabo), D Foy (Laytown & Bettystown GC);
81 S Whelan (Royal Tara), R Kennelly (Castleknock);
82 J Boles (Charleville);
83 J O'Driscoll (Grange), C Butler (Kinsale);
84 J Kelly (Ardee), T Plunkett (Crover House);
85 M Giles (Greenore), S O’Connell (Athenry)
NR D Smith (Palmerstown House Estate).
