North of Ireland title for Lowry
Shane Lowry's silken touch and crisp iron play helped the 21-year-old from Esker Hills survive two classic encounters at Royal Portrush to win the Magners North of Ireland Amateur Open title at the second attempt.
The plus-four handicapper, also this season's West of Ireland champion, made amends for losing in last year's Portrush final, and also inched closer to a place in the Great Britain and Ireland teams.
The big fellow from Tullamore, who has obvious de signs on securing elevation to the St Andrew's Trophy and Walker Cup sides, beat Andrew Morris of Belvoir Park one-up in the final shootout.
One of the heroes in Ireland's six-man team when retaining the European Team championship earlier this month in Turin, held off the gritty challenge of 34-year-old Morris.
"It was a relief to get down in two putts on the final green for par four and make sure of getting the monkey off my back. After losing last year to Garth Shaw I wanted to make amends," said Lowry.
"I'll take a rest for one week, but after that no let-up. It will be back to playing in the South at Lahinch, the Mullingar Scratch Cup, the Inter-Pros at Athlone and then the European championship in Denmark. Hopefully by then I may manage a place in the St Andrew's Trophy team."
The morning semi-final showdown between Lowry and Ward lived up to all expectation, and indeed much, much more.
This was one of the most nail-biting battles and enthralling fightbacks ever seen on the famous Dunluce championship links.
University student Ward from Co Louth was cruising at four-up after 13 holes. There seemed no way he could lose the high-quality slugging match. But Lowry dug deep and won the next four holes to force overtime.
Shell-shocked Simon couldn't stay with Lowry once last year's national champion ignited his recovery
Lowry conceded: "I was ready to hold up the white flag before playing Calamity Corner in the semi-final. But I made it through, and managed to hold off Andrew Morris."
Portstewart's Paul Cutler lost in the third round, losing by two holes to Aaron Callaghan of Douglas.
AFTER 36 HOLES
TOT ALL SCORES – DUNLUCE FIRST
136 C Doran (Banbridge) 71 65, J Caldwell (Clandeboye) 71 65, D Lernihan (Castle) 68 68
138 S Lowry (Esker Hills) 69 69
139 A Morris (Belvoir Park) 74 65, A Dunbar (Rathmore) 72 67, D Downie (Sutton) 71 68
140 D Crowe (Dunmurry) 72 68, C Hughes (Royal Portrush) 71 69
141 G McDermott (Co Sligo) 75 66, R Bridges (Nuim/Stackstown) 73 68, I Kettyle (Rathmore) 73 68, G McAuley (Dunmurry) 71 70
142 D Mulholland (Castlerock) 75 67, D Coyne (Galway) 74 68
143 S Ward (Co Louth) 78 65, B Campbell (Malone) 78 65, C O'Malley (Westport) 76 67, P Doherty (Ballyliffin) 75 68, A Kerr (Clandeboye) 74 69, P Davidson (Dungannon) 74 69, C Moulds (Lisburn) 74 69, D Reilly (Westmonstown) 73 70, J Heaslip (Ballyclare) 73 70, A O'Callaghan (Douglas) 71 72
144 J Crangle (Fortwilliam) 76 68, P Cutler (Portstewart) 74 70, P O'Hanlon (Curragh) 74 70, A Daly (Delgany) 74 70, D Sutton (Lockerbie) 74 70, R Evans (Moyola Park) 73 71, P O'Leary (Lucan) 72 72, G McGee (Malone) 71 73
145 T McClements (Holywood) 77 68, A Hogan (Newlands) 76 69, M Gaynor (South Carolina) 75 70, G Smith (Stirling) 74 71, J Turner (Royal Portrush) 74 71, C Brown (Royal Portrush) 74 71
146 R Boal (Castle) 79 67, R McNamara (Headfort) 77 69, D Baker (Downpatrick) 76 70, P Buckley (Kanturk) 75 71, J McDowell (Royal Belfast) 75 71, A McKinley (Shandon Park) 74 72, P Reavey (Warrenpoint) 74 72, S Kelly (Lockerbie) 73 73, B Best (Rathmore) 73 73, J Hawthorne (Fortwilliam) 73 73, S Crowe (Dunmurry) 71 75
147 J McKinstry (Cairndhu) 79 68, J Stevenson (Royal Portrush) 77 70, R Leonard (Banbridge) 77 70, D Beattie (Whitehead) 77 70, F Rafferty (Dungannon) 76 71, L Ashby (Killerig) 76 71, P Thompson (Ballyclare) 76 71, N O'Reilly (Clonmel) 76 71, R Cannon (Laytown Bettystown) 75 72, D Coghlan (The Royal Dublin) 75 72, B Galway (Cairndhu) 75 72, G McDowell (Rathmore) 75 72, G Armstrong (Carrickfergus) 75 72, C Crangle (Fortwilliam) 74 73, P McCabrey (Lurgan) 73 74, P O'Kane (Moyola Park) 73 74, B Hobson (Shandon Park) 71 76
148 C Fairweather (Knock) 78 70, H Diamond (Belvoir Park) 77 71, D McCusker (Moyola Park) 77 71, A Ennis Jnr (Bright Castle) 77 71, P Purdy (Shandon Park) 76 72, S Paul (Tandragee) 76 72, A Taylor (City of Derry/UU) 76 72, D Kyle (Royal Belfast) 76 72, D Ruddy (Thurles) 76 72, C O'Connor (Athlone) 75 73, N Crawford (Mourne) 74 74, J Coey (Clandeboye) 74 74, G Clarke (Lurgan) 74 74, S Doherty (Malone) 74 74, M Moreland (Scrabo) 73 75, C Dunbar (Rathmore) 73 75, B Walton (Island) 72 76, G Hamill (Ardglass) 72 76
149 N Boyd (Donaghadee) 81 68, G Jones (Belvoir Park) 79 70, R Doherty (Ballyliffin) 78 71, A McCully (Banbridge) 78 71, R Oliver (Carrickfergus/UU) 78 71, K Kidd (Lisburn) 77 72, P Kennedy (Strabane) 77 72, R Houston (Rathmore) 77 72, R Forsythe(Ballyclare) 77 72, A Kearney (Castlerock) 77 72, A Adair (Fortwilliam) 77 72, M Sinclair (Knock) 77 72, D Simpson (Malone) 76
73, L Acklin (Mulion) 76 73, S Loftus (Lahinch) 76 73, J Taylor (Shandon Park) 76 73, I Moore (Dunmurry) 76 73, T Conran (Arizona Collegiate) 75 74, D Joyce (The Curragh) 75 74, G McKenna (Fortwilliam) 75 74, D Turner (Castlerock) 75 74, M McGarry (Ballymena) 74 75, S McConnell (Ballyclare) 74 75, K McDonagh (Athlone/NUIM) 74 75, C McCormick (Holywood) 74 75, A Leslie
(Ballyclare) 73 76
150 C Curley (Newlands) 80 70, S Webster (Castle) 79 71, S Carruthers (Rathmore) 79 71, A Meharg (Scrabo) 78 72, C Carvill (Belvoir Park) 78 72, N Kearney (Royal Dublin) 78 72, K Magennis (Lisburn) 77 73, D Carvill (Belvoir Park) 77 73, J Harding (City of Derry) 77 73, N Brennan (Dunmurry) 77 73, S Miskelly (Knock) 76 74, D Calder (Helensburgh) 76 74, J Patterson (Knock) 76 74, S
Doherty (Ballyliffin) 76 74, J Ward (Westmanstown) 76 74, A Goodrich (Galgorm Castle) 76 74, I Conway (Bangor) 76 74, S Lyttle (Royal Portrush) 75 75, M McAlpin (Royal Portrush) 75 75, S Kyle (Malone) 74 76, C Campbell (Warrenpoint) 71 79
151 R Aston (Portadown) 80 71, D O'Neill (Newlands) 80 71, C Moffett (Cliftonville) 80 71, W Fitzpatrick (Headfort) 79 72, N Grant (Knock) 79 72, J Connolly (Cliftonville) 79 72, M Hammond (Moyola Park) 78 73, S East (Moortown) 78 73, N Murray (Dunmurry) 77 74, D Rawluk (The Island) 77 74, S Rea (Ballyclare) 77 74, B Fennelly (Royal Dublin) 76 75, C Steele (Ballyclare) 76 75, R McCarthy (The Island) 75 76, B Scullion (Lurgan) 75 76, N Molloy (East Clare) 75 76, P Dallat (Ballycastle) 74 77
152 K Quigg (City of Derry) 82 70, J Patterson (Royal Portrush) 81 71, D Mulholland (Castlerock) 81 71, J Owens (Bangor/UU) 81 71, G Lynas (Shandon Park) 81 71, G Stewart (Ballymena) 80 72, G Reid (Spa) 79 73, J Smith (Roe Park) 79 73, P McCullagh (Hampstead) 79 73, D McKee (Massereene) 78 74, M Thompson (Scrabo) 78 74, J Finnegan (Royal Portrush) 78 74, R Knightly (Royal Dublin) 78 74, J McIntyre (City of Derry) 78 74, S McGlynn (Castle) 78 74, B Fitzsimons (Downpatrick) 77 75, E McAnoy (Knock) 77 75, P McCrudden (Royal Portrush) 76 76, R Symington (Lisburn) 76 76, S Stevenson (Co Armagh) 75 77, C Wilson
(Belvoir Park) 70 82
153 T Greeves (Shandon Park) 84 69, P Wallace (Carton House) 84 69, D Vaughan (Ardglass) 83 70, L Connolly (Wexford) 82 71, R Gribben (Warrenpoint) 81 72, G Lawlor (Citywest) 81 72, H O'Sullivan (St Georges Hill) 81 72, N Sweet (Moortown) 81 72, G Kelly (Co Louth) 80 73, M Wylie (Balmoral) 80 73, G Flynn (Delgany) 80 73, A McCormick (Scrabo) 79 74, J Ward (Banbridge) 78 75,
K Crawley (Lee Valley) 77 76, C McClenaghan (Spa) 77 76, S Magee (Lurgan) 75 78
154 L Reilly (Galgorm Castle) 86 68, J Hannan (Carton House) 84 70, C Clancy (Stackstown) 83 71, J Mallon (Dungannon) 83 71, B Devlin (Ballyliffin) 83 71, C Montgomery (Malone) 81 73, L Moore (City of Derry) 80 74, R Burke (Castle) 80 74, J Gourley (Knock) 80 74, S Adamson (Royal Belfast) 79 75, C Kinghan (Galgorm Castle) 79 75, G Bradley (Portstewart) 78 76, M Timmins (Mount
Wolseley) 78 76, R Naylor (Worplesdon) 77 77, A Mason (Lambeg) 76 78, A Stewart (Portstewart) 75 79, C Miller (Clandeboye) 74 80
155 T Irvine (Clandeboye) 84 71, T Douglas (Lurgan) 82 73, B Cashman (Belvoir Park) 81 74, S Alley (Co Tipperary) 79 76, B Taylor (Worplesdon) 79 76, L Mulligan (Stackstown) 78 77, I Ross (Whitehead) 78 77, A Watt (Holywood) 78 77, K Canavan (Christy O'Connor) 78 77, F Inglis (King James VI) 76 79, L Brady (The Royal Dublin) 76 79, A Stevens (Spa) 76 79, W Hanna (Kilkeel) 75
80, M Hemphill (Portstewart) 75 80
156 R Gordon (Donaghadee) 82 74, D McNeill (Rosapenna) 82 74, D McElroy (Ballymena) 81 75, T Gilliland (Knock) 81 75, C Hull (Massereene) 81 75, M McMurray (Bangor) 80 76, M Smyth (Ballymena) 79 77, M Wylie (Balmoral) 79 77, M McCormick (West Middlesex) 79 77, P MacMahon (Belvoir Park) 79 77, M Dickson (Holywood) 79 77, S Henry (Royal Portrush) 79 77, N Mullen
(Kirkistown Castle) 78 78
157 J Monaghan (The Island) 84 73, B Loy (Fortwilliam) 83 74, G Best (Castlerock) 81 76, A Dinsmore (Malone) 81 76, R Navan (Knock) 80 77, N Armstrong (Clandeboye) 80 77, P Gibb (Massereene) 78 79, G Henry (Galgorm Castle) 78 79, S Arthur (The Island) 77 80, S Quigg (City of Derry) 77 80, P Fitzsimons (Downpatrick) 76 81, S McLaughlin (Carrickfergus) 75 82
158 S Reid (Knock) 85 73, G Moore (Castlereagh Hills) 83 75, C O'Prey (Kirkistown Castle) 83 75, P Shaw (Moyola Park) 83 75, N Cooke (Tandragee) 82 76, G Mannagh (Knock) 81 77, P Nelson (Carnalea) 81 77, A Coulter (Lisburn) 81 77, J Murray (Mourne) 79 79, D Holland (Castle) 79 79, A Eagle (Tandragee) 79 79, G Laird (Carnalea) 79 79, A Nixon (Knock) 79 79, S Poole (Portadown) 74 84
159 K Poole (Tandragee) 85 74, N Kearns (Omagh) 83 76, B Loftus (Ennis) 82 77, B Crawford (Mourne) 79 80, K McGarry (Malone) 79 80, G Hutchinson (Clandeboye) 79 80, A Burns (Antrim) 79 80
160 R Callan (Carton House) 85 75, T Finnegan (Gort) 84 76, M Rae (Rowany) 84 76, S Keelan (Douglas) 84 76, G Dallas (Castlerock) 83 77, T Cummins (Lurgan) 82 78, C McIlroy (Holywood) 80 80, D O'Neill (Carton House) 79 81, S Jeffers (Castletown) 78 82, D Gallagher (Dunfanaghy) 77 83
161 G Crawford (Lurgan) 86 75, M McAvoy (Silverwood) 84 77, J Jamieson (Ballymena) 80 81, R McCrudden (Royal Portrush) 78 83
162 K Quigg (City of Derry) 78 84
163 A Lowe (Foxrock) 88 75, J Hutton (Castle Hume) 86 77, A Dooley (Glasson) 84 79, A Porter (Cliftonville) 82 81, C Cooney (Gort) 82 81, D O'Hara (Belvoir Park) 79 84
164 P Benson (Castlebar) 92 72, M Jones (Moortown) 78 86
165 J Gardner (Carnalea) 94 71, A Norrby (Balmoral) 86 79
166 K Lowry (Royal Belfast) 85 81, R Coleman (Tullamore) 83 83
171 R Loney (Tandragee) 90 81
175 M McIlroy (Royal Co Down) 89 86
178 T Collins (Dungannon) 80 98
NR S Glover (Scrabo) NR, C Ruane (Tullamore) NR, S Smyth (County Louth) 80
NR, B Keating (Clonmel) NR, A Wilson (Cairndhu) NR, R Kane (Bangor) NR, E Heywood (City of Derry) NR, G Abernethy(Dunmurry) 82 NR, G McGrotty (Portstewart) 80 NR
RT W McCully (Donaghadee) RT, K Sheehy RT
WD C Cunningham (Carton House) WD