'It's good to be in the mix' - David Howard starts well in South of Ireland with Walker Cup flavour
David Howard lines up a putt on the 18th at Lahinch in the opening round of the South of Ireland. ©INPHO/Nick Elliott
Skipper Dean Robertson knows that Irish involvement is key to winning back the Walker Cup and he could be pleased to see a host of Irish names make hot starts in the 124th Pierse Motor Group-sponsored South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch.
England’s Dan Hayes, who is highly fancied to make the 10-man side, overcame a slow start and rattled in nine birdies in a seven-under 65 to boost his chances of joining certain selections Tyler Weaver, Luke Poulter, Eliot Baker, Niall Shiels-Donegan, Connor Graham and Stuart Grehan at Lahinch from September 5-6.
Hayes (19) leads by a shot from Athenry’s in-form David Kitt and 2023 Walker Cup player Matt McClean from Malone.
But there were also eye-catching performances from two Fota Island men bidding to win the title on a day when Co Louth’s Gavin Tiernan, a member of the 2025 side, shot 74.
While Belvoir Park’s Darcy Hogg and Norway’s Veigar Heiðarsson carded 67s to lie just two shots off the pace, David Howard opened with a four-under 68 to share sixth place despite the fatigue from last week’s Open Championship, as clubmate John Doyle shot 69.
Howard impressed Robertson with his performance in The Open, and the Cork man played three six-hole singles matches against Amateur champion Grehan and likely team members Hayes and Lewy Hayward during Tuesday’s Walker Cup camp.
“It's good to be in the mix,” Howard said. “I know that he's looking at me and he followed me around a bit today. I shot four-under so it’s not bad. I’m sure he's happy enough with that.
“I got to the quarters last year and I played pretty solid today, made a few putts, so it was pretty stress-free. It was nice.”
Doyle made little on the greens but still shot a bogey-free 69 as 19-year-old English star Hayes made nine birdies in a two-club wind to shoot a seven-under 65 despite dropping a shot at the first and failing to birdie the par-five second or fourth holes.
“I thought it was going to be a bit of a rough day,” said Hayes, who went on to make six birdies and a par at the 10th in a seven-hole stretch from the sixth.
“But I went on a little run where I holed a few 10-footers, which were the ones that helped. And then just taking advantage of some of the par fives down the stretch.”
He leads by a shot from Kitt and McClean, who played on the side that lost at St Andrews in 2023.
“Everyone wants to play Walker Cup, there’s no doubt about it,” McClean said. “So I'm just going to play golf. I’ve got to keep my head out of all that sort of stuff. I can't do anything about it.”
Skipper Robertson has been working closely with Paul McGinley on preparing for the clash with the highly fancied Americans, who will be bidding to deny GB&I their first win since 2015.
“The reason why we're here is to really learn the examination because Cypress Point was impossible to prepare for; it changed so dramatically in terms of the firmness during the week,” Robertson said.
“Links golf is easier to prepare for for us. Lahinch is such a well-framed golf course, and it's one you can't overpower.
“You need to understand the contouring, especially around the greens, looking at it in different winds, and just getting an understanding of how to plot your way around the golf course.”
While he’s had great help from the leading lights at Lahinch Golf Club and its head greenkeeper, Brian McDonagh, Robertson is looking to get an edge in terms of course knowledge and tactics.
“Paul McGinley and I are talking a lot,” he said. “He knows this place well, I'm getting to know it better and so are the players.
“By the time the gun goes, we'll be fresh, but we'll be prepared.”
As for McGinley’s involvement, he said: “Paul is working for TV during the Walker Cup, but there's a lot of synergy there between the Ryder Cup and the Walker Cup.
“We’re looking at how we plot our way around the golf course in certain winds. What to do here, what to do there. We’ll just do our homework.
“The Americans are going to have a great team. They may not have Jackson Koivun or Ben James, who have turned pro, but they've got a young Miles Russell, they've got a young Tyler Watts, and they've got an unbelievable amount of top superstars in the waiting.
“We know how difficult it's going to be but the big thing about it is the fact that there’s two singles series.
“The Ryder Cup doesn't have that. The Solheim doesn't, nor does the Curtis Cup. It’s 18 of the 26 points, so there’s a big focus on singles play, and that's what the panel did the last couple of days.
“We’ve got to maintain what we did last year in terms of the team togetherness, the unity, because if we can get the if we can get that right, we're going to have we're going to have a great chance.”
124th South of Ireland Amateur Open, sponsored by Pierse Motor Group, Lahinch (Old, Par 72)
First qualifying rd.
65 Daniel Hayes (Bramhall);
66 Matthew McClean (Malone), David Kitt (Athenry)
67 Darcy Hogg (Belvoir Park), Veigar Heiðarsson (Golfklúbbur Akureyrar);
68 Graham Donohoe (Enniscorthy), Matthew Dodd-Berry (Royal Liverpool), Joe Lyons (Galway), Fionn Dobbin (Malone), Ryan Griffin (The Royal Dublin), Ben Bolton (Enville), David Howard (Fota Island);
69 Sam Mukherjee (Gullane), Aidan Fitzgerald (NYSGA), James Walsh (Kinsale), Oli Blackadder (Deeside), Padraig O Dochartaigh (Gweedore), David Lally (Blainroe), Max Hopkins (Bishops Stortford), Ciaran Murphy (Grange), John Doyle (Fota Island), Ben Cahill (Dundalk), Harley Smith (The Rayleigh), Freddie Turnell (Burnham & Berrow);
70 Dylan Holmes (Greystones), Lewy Hayward (Marlborough), Stuart Grehan (Co Louth), Josh Hill (Fox Den), John Greene (Portmarnock), Seán Desmond (Monkstown), Archie Cook (Gullane), Darren O'Sullivan (Tralee), Mark Gazi (Tralee), Harry Gillivan (Portmarnock), Jake Foley (Elm Park), Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth), Thomas Abom (Edmondstown);
71 David Reddan (Castleknock), Rory Gallagher (Galway Bay), Senan Carroll (Ballybunion), Darragh Flynn (Carton House), Oliver Lewis-Perkins (Mid Kent), Oliver Mukherjee (Gullane), Seán Cloonan (Dunmore Demense), Connor Graham (Blairgowrie), Harry McArdle (Warrenpoint), David Shiel (Enniscrone), Thomas Higgins (Roscommon), Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock), Sean David (Pyle and Kenfig), Keith Egan (Carton House), Cian O’Connor (Roscommon), Dominic McGlinchey (The Renaissance), Robert Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire), Jonathan Keane (Lahinch), Aaron McNulty (Lahinch), Evan Farrell (Co Louth), Richard Saunders (Germany), Robert Walsh (Kinsale), Conor Hickey (Dooks), Tomi Bowen (Welshpool);
72 Bruce MacDonald (Lisburn), Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle), Ben Gratzl (St Leon rot), Adam Allahbachani (Powerscourt), TJ Ford (County Sligo), Aaron Ryan (Thurles), Evan Hogg (Belvoir Park), James Marriott (West Surrey), Luke Branagan (Corrstown), Luke Cunningham (Galway Bay), Joe O'Neill (Berehaven), Dylan Keating (Seapoint), Barry O’Connell (Douglas), Paul O'Hanlon (Carton House);
73 Jordan Boles (Carton House), Paul Coughlan (Castleknock), Mark Cadden (Roganstown), Stephen Loftus (Lahinch), Simon Gallivan (Killarney), Ross Latimer (Clandeboye), Jack McDonnell (Royal Dublin), Morgan Cain (Fota Island), Alex King (Faithlegg), Rafael Poli (Holywood), Adam Doherty (Balmoral), Jack Murphy (Douglas), Tom Osborne (Lindrick), Timmy Jordan (Armagh), Campbell Kerr (Brisbane), Charlie Mooney (Ballinasloe), Louis Goodman (Co Louth), Conor Stapleton (Westport), Mikkel Tingsted Blum (Dragor), Conor McGrogan (The Heritage), Gavin O'Neill (Malahide);
74 William Hennessee (Oklahoma), Cathal Penney (Athenry), Jody Fanagan (Milltown), Eoin Murphy (Dundalk), Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin), Cormac Ó Muirithe (Belmullet), Gavin Tiernan (Co Louth), Shane Hogan (The Heritage);
75 Jamie Anderson (Greystones), Michael Crowley (Hayfields), Corey Scullion (Moyola Park), Benjamin Oberholzer (Clandeboye), Fergal Coyle (Athenry), Jack Connolly (Elm Park), Sean Sweeney (Gweedore), Adam Smith (Mullingar golf club), Samuel Easterbrook (Olton Golf Club), Jamal Sabir (Moate), Aodhagan Brady (Co Sligo), David Foy (Laytown & Bettystown), Patrick Curran (Edmondstown), Quentin Carew (The Heritage), Federico Torresagasti (Jockey Club de Rafaela), Cian Harkin (The Island);
76 Dean McMahon (Castletroy), Ian Lynch (Rosslare), Ross Healion (Newforest), Adam Buchanan (Royal Portrush), Darren McCormack (Corrstown);
77 Lorcan O'Connor (Edmondstown), Kyle McCarron (North West), Thomas O'Connor (Athlone), Conor Clarke (Balmoral), Eoin Sullivan (Portmarnock), Ryan Murray (Balmoral);
78 Gary Collins (Rosslare), Alex Kerins (Carton House), Sean Keeling (Roganstown), Sam West (Liphook), Danny Lyne (Lahinch), Julius Sommer (Penati), Kieran Morris (Rosslare), Oscar Murphy (Royal Portrush);
79 James O’Rourke (Naas), Neil Patterson (Baltinglass), Cian Hart (Sharjah), Greg O'Mahony (Fota Island), William O’Riordan (Greystones);
80 Scott O'Brien (Nenagh), Paraic McGrath (Galway Bay);
83 Mark Muldoon (Royal Dublin), Steven Gormley (Blainroe);
86 Dylan Harbourne (Grange);
87 Liam Abom (Edmondstown).
