‘I think I need to win it’ - Howard looking to go all the way in Walker Cup quest at Lahinch
David Howard. Picture: Niall O’Shea
David Howard continued his "mad" month of brilliant golf and kept alive his hopes of a Walker Cup call-up when he cruised into the semi-finals of the 124th South of Ireland Amateur Open at Lahinch,
The west Clare club will host the clash between Great Britain and Ireland and the United States from September 5-6, and the Fota Island star (27) knows he likely has to make Sunday afternoon's decider and win it to make captain Dean Robertson's 10-man team.
"People are saying you're on the cusp, but I think I need to win it really to get my name on that panel," Howard said after following a hard-fought one-up win over Tralee's Mark Gazi with a 2&1 victory over England's Josh Hill in the quarter-finals.
"We're still going anyway, so that's a good sign. It's good to see him [Dean Robertson] out there and hopefully showing him a piece of what I can do, which is good."
Howard had to birdie the 18th to beat Gazi, who fought back from two down to take the match to the last as misty rain lashed Lahinch from the west for most of the morning.
It was just as tight against Hill, who was two up through eight holes before Howard won the next four holes to go two up.
The dream continues for David Howard, who beats Josh Hill 2&1 to reach the semi finals of the South of Ireland @LahinchGolfClub pic.twitter.com/LrbbylrO0K
— Brian Keogh (@IrishGolfDesk) July 25, 2026
He then made a miraculous up and down from right of the 13th to halve the hole in birdies, knocked in a 10-footer for a half at the 14th and came back from losing the 15th by making a winning par at the 16th after Hill over-hit a bunker shot.
After helping Munster win the Interpros and then qualifying for The Open at Royal Birkdale, where he missed the cut by just two shots, Howard has played around 20 rounds of golf in 20 days.
"It's been an incredible few weeks," said the Cork man, whose health battle with Cystic Fibrosis has caught the public imagination. "It's just been mad, really."
Fatigue will be a factor, but Howard believes his one-shot-at-a-time approach will help against Welshman Tomi Bowen in the semi-finals.
The Welshpool golfer improved his Walker Cup prospects by following a 2-up win over England's Ben Bolton with a 2&1 win over Grange's Ciaran Murphy on a blustery, overcast and sometimes rainy afternoon.
"I'll try to get good sleep again tonight, go again, try to be good mentally for the day, good or bad. It's been working out so far."
If it was a great day for Howard, it was one of mixed emotions for Roscommon's Thomas Higgins.
He beat two-time Walker Cup player and leading qualifier Connor Graham of Scotland 2&1 in the last 16 but lost one-up to the six-foot-four-inch German left-hander Ben Gratzl in the afternoon.
Gratzl was three up at the turn, but after levelling the match by making a 30-footer for a two at the 16th, Higgins bogeyed the 17th to trail again, and the German closed out victory by making a tricky five-footer for a half in birdies.
Gratzl, whose caddie and college teammate at Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma, Galwayman Charlie Mooney, encouraged him to enter, now faces Pyle and Kenfig's Sean David, who beat England's Freddie Turnell at the 21st.
At the ISPS Handa Senior Open, American Jerry Kelly and Australian Cameron Percy share the lead heading into the final round at Gleneagles.
Kelly carded a two-under 68 to Percy's 71 to leave them three shots clear of England's Peter Baker on eight under.
Defending champion Pádraig Harrington shot 74 to share 52nd on six over while Paul McGinley also shot 74 to lie a shot further back.
In the LPGA co-sanctioned ISPS HANDA Women's Scottish Open, South Korea's Jenny Shin carded a one-under 71 to take a five-shot lead over Thailand's Pajaree Anannarukarn, who shot 69, into the final day at Dundonald Links.
Leona Maguire carded a 73 to share 11th on one-over, albeit 13strokes off the lead.
In the Czech Republic, a one-over 72 left Max Kennedy joint 21st on six-under, eight shots behind leaders Callum Tarren, Anton Albers and Hamish Brown at the HotelPlanner Tour's Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge.
Conor Purcell shot 71 to share 47th on two-under while Mark Power shot a rollercoaster 75, going to the turn in 31 before dropping nine shots in his last seven holes.
124th South of Ireland, sponsored by Pierse Motor Group, Lahinch
Last 16
Josh Hill (Fox Den) bt Sam Easterbrook (Olton) 5/4;
David Howard (Fota Island) bt Mark Gazi (Tralee) 1up;
Tomi Bowen (Welshpool) bt Ben Bolton (Enville) 2 up;
Ciaran Murphy (Grange) bt Daniel Hayes (Bramhall) 2&1;
Thomas Higgins (Roscommon) bt Connor Graham (Blairgowrie) 2&1;
Ben Gratzl (St Leon Rot, Ger) bt Matthew Dodd-Berry (Royal Liverpool) 1 up;
Sean David (Pyle and Kenfig) bt Max Hopkins (Bishops Stortford) 2&1;
Freddie Turnell (Burnham & Berrow) bt D Kitt (Athenry) 21st
Quarter-finals
Howard bt Hill 2/1
Bowen bt Murphy 2/1
Gratzl bt Higgins 1up
David bt Turnell 20th
Sunday - Semi-finals
8:30 Howard v Bowen;
8:45 Gratzl v David.
Final 2 pm
