'If we had an all-Ireland final on Sunday, I'd be quietly delighted' - Cream rises as race for Walker Cup spots hots up at Lahinch
Matt McClean tees off on the fourth. ©INPHO/Nick Elliott
Scotland's Connor Graham showed the quality of golf that will make him a three-time Walker Cup player next month when he fired a blistering 10-under 62 to top the qualifiers in the 124th South of Ireland Amateur Championship at Lahinch.
Great Britain and Ireland captain Dean Robertson expects to have nine, or possibly his entire 10-man team, decided by Sunday night, and while Graham (19) is a certainty to make his third appearance next month, he showed his class with a masterful second-round performance at a sun-kissed Lahinch.
With some tees pushed up and no wind to bother the early starters, he made seven birdies (with just one from outside five feet) and a tap-in eagle at the last to tie with Matt McClean, who shot 67, on 11-under par.
"I just played well tee to green, and thankfully I was able to roll in some putts, which was nice," said Graham, who was part of the Walker Cup camp held at the Co Clare venue on Monday and Tuesday that's designed to give GB&I an edge when they bid to end an 11-year wait for a Walker Cup win from September 5-6.
"I think it's a golf course where you need to know what you're doing. And I think the better we know the golf course, the more chance we're going to have of getting more points and winning eventually."
How Connor Graham shot 62 at Lahinch
1 Nice drive, 70 yards up the hill, five feet. Birdie
2 Nice drive, 9 iron, 20 feet short, nice two-putt. Birdie
3 3 wood, middle of the fairway, 8 iron 175 to about 13-14 feet. Rolled that one in. Birdie
4 3 wood, 210-yard 5 iron into the wind. Just missed green right, nice simple two-putt from fringe. Birdie
9 3 wood into position and a nice 125-yard gap wedge. Almost holed it. Tap-in for birdie.
12 Into wind. Nice drive down there. 205 to a back-right pin; hit a nice 6-iron to the middle of the green and a simple two-putt. Birdie
13 Downwind. 3-iron just a little short of the green; nice simple chip to just a couple feet. Birdie
14 Drive, 140-yard to tap-in distance for three in a row. Birdie
18 Driver, 8 iron to tap-in distance. Eagle.
Skipper Robertson is keen to have two, or even three Irishmen on his team and while Amateur champion and automatic pick Stuart Grehan cruised into the matchplay, firing a 66 to share fourth on eight-under, McClean is making his first appearance at Lahinch since 2021 with the Walker Cup in mind.
Some approach into 18 by Connor Graham, sets up a tap in eagle to cap off a second round 10 under 62 in the second round of the South pic.twitter.com/HWdk8rLG3D
— Irish Amateur golf info (@amateur_info) July 23, 2026
"The morning was perfect, and I just wanted to go out and not mess it up," McClean said after his 67.
The cream certainly rose to the top with England's Ben Bolton (67) third on nine-under and compatriots Oliver Lewis-Perkins (65), Lewy Hayward (66), Freddie Turnell (67) and Matthew Dodd-Berry (68) tied for fourth with Grehan, David Kitt (69) and Belvoir Park's Darcy Hogg (70) on eight-under.
Roscommon's Thomas Higgins, who holed the winning putt in Ireland's European Amateur Team Championship win two weeks ago, made it through on six under after a 67.
Fota Island's John Doyle, another Walker Cup contender, qualified on five under after a 70 while Co Louth's Gavin Tiernan, a member of the 2025 team, was four under after a 66.
It was more of a struggle for Doyle's Fota Island clubmate David Howard, who admitted he was exhausted after his exertions in The Open.
"Thankfully, I did enough today in the end," said Howard, who lost a ball on the 10th and bogeyed the 11th to find himself on the cut line before following par saves at the 15th and 16th with two birdies for a 73 and safety on three-under.
"Obviously in the back of my mind you’d be thinking ‘if I have a great week, I could get picked for Walker Cup’. But I think I was just going out there playing and trying to make the cut.
“I got in from Birkdale at 5am Sunday and then had a couple of hours’ sleep. Then up here Monday evening to play a practice round on Tuesday morning.
“It's been a long couple of weeks but I'm happy enough to be here. It's a great spot. I'm looking forward to the weekend. Thankfully, I did enough today in the end.
"It could be straight into bed now, to be honest. Get a bit of food and relax. Try and get some energy back."
Lahinch has two men in the last 64: defending champion Jonathan Keane (three-under) and Stephen Loftus, who holed a five-iron from just over 200 yards for an albatross two at the Klondyke, en route to a 70.
West of Ireland champion Mark Cadden from Roganstown knows he needs to win to catch Robertson's attention and finished birdie-eagle, holing a 35-footer at the last, to make the matchplay draw on one-under.
Robertson is keen to see the Irish have a good week, admitting, "If we had an all-Ireland final on Sunday, I would be quietly delighted.
"The players, they know what's at stake now. It's the South with a bit of an edge to it this year, and it's exciting. I look forward to it."
As for Graham, he said: "Connor's a prodigious talent. He's putted better today. He's just a great golfer.
"Great to see Matt McClean playing well today too, so I'm delighted.
"Come Sunday night here, I will know nine of the team, probably 10. However, I'll hold one spot back, because should a player who's not in that nine go to Merion in the US Amateur and win it, they would be an automatic.
"But this is of more weight than the US Amateur. The South of Ireland, in my opinion, has as much weight as the Amateur Championship at Royal Liverpool a month ago without the exemptions to major championships.
"So they all know that. It's now time for them to step it up and go and put their name on that silverware that started in 1895 or so."
South of Ireland Amateur Open, sponsored by Pierse Motor Group, Lahinch (Par 72)
Round 1 (Friday)
7:00 Matthew McClean (Malone) v Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock);
7:09 Samuel Easterbrook (Olton) v William Hennessee (Oklahoma);
7:18 Josh Hill (Fox Den) v Darragh Flynn (Carton House);
7:27 Jake Foley (Elm Park) v Rory Gallagher (Galway Bay);
7:36 Gavin Tiernan (Co Louth) v Jack McDonnell (Royal Dublin);
7:45 Mark Gazi (Tralee) v David Lally (Blainroe);
7:54 Oliver Lewis-Perkins (Mid Kent) v Stephen Loftus (Lahinch);
8:03 Keith Egan (Carton House) v David Howard (Fota Island);
8:12 Ben Bolton (Enville) v Joe O'Neill (Berehaven);
8:21 Richard Saunders (Germany) v Seán Cloonan (Dunmore Demense);
8:30 Tomi Bowen (Welshpool) v Aidan Fitzgerald (NYSGA);
8:39 Fionn Dobbin (Malone) v Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle);
8:48 Lewy Hayward (Marlborough) v Barry O’Connell (Douglas);
8:57 Ciaran Murphy (Grange) v Jonathan Keane (Lahinch);
9:06 TJ Ford (County Sligo) v Oli Blackadder (Deeside);
9:15 Daniel Hayes (Bramhall) v Aaron Ryan (Thurles);
9:24 Connor Graham (Blairgowrie) v David Reddan (Castleknock);
9:33 Graham Donohoe (Enniscorthy) v Morgan Cain (Fota Island);
9:42 Thomas Higgins (Roscommon) v Archie Cook (Gullane);
9:51 Sam Mukherjee (Gullane) v Harry McArdle (Warrenpoint);
10:00 Matthew Dodd-Berry (Royal Liverpool) v Evan Hogg (Belvoir Park);
10:09 Darren O'Sullivan (Tralee) v Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth);
10:18 Darcy Hogg (Belvoir Park) v Mark Cadden (Roganstown);
10:27 Ben Gratzl (St Leon Rot) v Tom Osborne (Lindrick);
10:36 Stuart Grehan (Co Louth) v Robert Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire);
10:45 Max Hopkins (Bishops Stortford) v Gavin O'Neill (Malahide);
10:54 Ryan Griffin (The Royal Dublin) v Dylan Holmes (Greystones);
11:03 Harley Smith (The Rayleigh) v Sean David (Pyle and Kenfig);
11:12 Freddie Turnell (Burnham & Berrow) v Paul O'Hanlon (Carton House);
11:21 John Doyle (Fota Island) v Dominic McGlinchey (The Renaissance);
11:30 David Kitt (Athenry) v Veigar Heiðarsson (Golfklúbbur Akureyrar);
11:39 Jack Murphy (Douglas) v Dylan Keating (Seapoint).
Qualifiers
133 Connor Graham (Blairgowrie) 71 62 (leading qualifier), Matthew McClean (Malone) 66 67;
135 Ben Bolton (Enville) 68 67;
136 Oliver Lewis-Perkins (Mid Kent) 71 65, Stuart Grehan (Co Louth) 70 66, Lewy Hayward (Marlborough) 70 66, Freddie Turnell (Burnham & Berrow) 69 67, Matthew Dodd-Berry (Royal Liverpool) 68 68, Darcy Hogg (Belvoir Park) 67 69, David Kitt (Athenry) 66 70;
137 TJ Ford (County Sligo) 72 65, Tomi Bowen (Welshpool) 71 66, Ryan Griffin (The Royal Dublin) 68 69;
138 Thomas Higgins (Roscommon) 71 67, Josh Hill (Fox Den) 70 68, Jake Foley (Elm Park) 70 68, Sam Mukherjee (Gullane) 69 69, Harley Smith (The Rayleigh) 69 69, Fionn Dobbin (Malone) 68 70, Daniel Hayes (Bramhall) 65 73;
139 Jack Murphy (Douglas) 73 66, Ben Gratzl (St Leon Rot) 72 67, Keith Egan (Carton House) 71 68, Mark Gazi (Tralee) 70 69, Darren O'Sullivan (Tralee) 70 69, John Doyle (Fota Island) 69 70, Ciaran Murphy (Grange) 69 70;
140 Gavin Tiernan (Co Louth) 74 66, Richard Saunders (Germany) 71 69, Max Hopkins (Bishops Stortford) 69 71, Graham Donohoe (Enniscorthy) 68 72;
141 Samuel Easterbrook (Olton Golf Club) 75 66, William Hennessee (Oklahoma) 74 67, Morgan Cain (Fota Island) 73 68, Gavin O'Neill (Malahide) 73 68, Seán Cloonan (Dunmore Demense) 71 70, Jonathan Keane (Lahinch) 71 70, Dominic McGlinchey (The Renaissance) 71 70, Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth) 70 71, David Lally (Blainroe) 69 72, David Howard (Fota Island) 68 73;
142 Tom Osborne (Lindrick) 73 69, Dylan Keating (Seapoint) 72 70, Aaron Ryan (Thurles) 72 70, Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle) 72 70, Sean David (Pyle and Kenfig) 71 71, Harry McArdle (Warrenpoint) 71 71, Rory Gallagher (Galway Bay) 71 71, Darragh Flynn (Carton House) 71 71, Archie Cook (Gullane) 70 72, Dylan Holmes (Greystones) 70 72, Aidan Fitzgerald (NYSGA) 69 73, Oli Blackadder (Deeside) 69 73, Veigar Heiðarsson (Golfklúbbur Akureyrar) 67 75;
143 Mark Cadden (Roganstown) 73 70, Stephen Loftus (Lahinch) 73 70, Jack McDonnell (Royal Dublin) 73 70, Evan Hogg (Belvoir Park) 72 71, Paul O'Hanlon (Carton House) 72 71, Barry O’Connell (Douglas) 72 71, Joe O'Neill (Berehaven) 72 71, Robert Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire) 71 72, David Reddan (Castleknock) 71 72, Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock) 71 72.
Non-qualifiers
143 Harry Gillivan (Portmarnock) 70 73, Seán Desmond (Monkstown) 70 73;
144 Sam West (Liphook) 78 66, Bruce MacDonald (Lisburn) 72 72, Adam Allahbachani (Powerscourt) 72 72, David Shiel (Enniscrone) 71 73, Evan Farrell (Co Louth) 71 73, John Greene (Portmarnock) 70 74, James Walsh (Kinsale) 69 75;
145 Alex Kerins (Carton House) 78 67, Thomas Abom (Edmondstown) 70 75, Padraig O Dochartaigh (Gweedore) 69 76, Joe Lyons (Galway) 68 77;
146 Corey Scullion (Moyola Park) 75 71, Cathal Penney (Athenry) 74 72, Jordan Boles (Carton House) 73 73, Paul Coughlan (Castleknock) 73 73, Ross Latimer (Clandeboye) 73 73, Alex King (Faithlegg) 73 73, James Marriott (West Surrey) 72 74, Oliver Mukherjee (Gullane) 71 75;
147 Adam Buchanan (Royal Portrush) 76 71, Jack Connolly (Elm Park) 75 72, Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) 74 73, Mikkel Tingsted Blum (Dragor) 73 74, Cian O’Connor (Roscommon) 71 76, Ben Cahill (Dundalk) 69 78;
148 William O’Riordan (Greystones) 79 69, Thomas O'Connor (Athlone) 77 71, Ian Lynch (Rosslare) 76 72, David Foy (Laytown & Bettystown) 75 73, Patrick Curran (Edmondstown) 75 73, Sean Sweeney (Gweedore) 75 73, Federico Torresagasti (Jockey Club de Rafaela) 75 73, Cormac Ó Muirithe (Belmullet) 74 74, Conor McGrogan (The Heritage) 73 75, Luke Cunningham (Galway Bay) 72 76, Conor Hickey (Dooks) 71 77, Senan Carroll (Ballybunion) 71 77;
149 Benjamin Oberholzer (Clandeboye) 75 74, Adam Smith (Mullingar golf club) 75 74, Charlie Mooney (Ballinasloe) 73 76, Rafael Poli (Holywood) 73 76, Conor Stapleton (Westport) 73 76, Adam Doherty (Balmoral) 73 76;
150 Sean Keeling (Roganstown) 78 72, Quentin Carew (The Heritage) 75 75, Cian Harkin (The Island) 75 75, Fergal Coyle (Athenry) 75 75, Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) 74 76, Shane Hogan (The Heritage) 74 76, Campbell Kerr (Brisbane) 73 77, Luke Branagan (Corrstown) 72 78, Aaron McNulty (Lahinch) 71 79;
151 Steven Gormley (Blainroe) 83 68, Gary Collins (Rosslare) 78 73, Dean McMahon (Castletroy) 76 75, Darren McCormack (Corrstown) 76 75, Louis Goodman (Co Louth) 73 78;
152 Danny Lyne (Lahinch) 78 74, Michael Crowley (Hayfields) 75 77, Timmy Jordan (Armagh) 73 79, Simon Gallivan (Killarney) 73 79;
153 Conor Clarke (Balmoral) 77 76, Jody Fanagan (Milltown) 74 79;
154 Neil Patterson (Baltinglass) 79 75, Cian Hart (Sharjah) 79 75, Jamal Sabir (Moate) 75 79;
155 James O’Rourke (Naas) 79 76, Greg O'Mahony (Fota Island) 79 76, Lorcan O'Connor (Edmondstown) 77 78, Ryan Murray (Balmoral) 77 78, Ross Healion (New Forest) 76 79, Jamie Anderson (Greystones) 75 80, Robert Walsh (Kinsale) 71 84;
156 Scott O'Brien (Nenagh) 80 76, Oscar Murphy (Royal Portrush) 78 78, Kyle McCarron (North West) 77 79;
157 Paraic McGrath (Galway Bay) 80 77, Eoin Sullivan (Portmarnock) 77 80;
158 Julius Sommer (Penati) 78 80;
160 Kieran Morris (Rosslare) 78 82;
163 Mark Muldoon (Royal Dublin) 83 80;
169 Dylan Harbourne (Grange) 86 83;
WD Aodhagan Brady (Co Sligo) 75 WD, Liam Abom (Edmondstown) 87 WD.
