Warrenpoint's Colm Campbell looks like the man to beat as he took up where he left off at Baltray on Monday by firing a four under par 68 to take a one-stroke lead after the first qualifying round for the AIG sponsored Irish Amateur Close Championship at Seapoint.

Winner of the CityNorth Hotel sponsored East of Ireland Championship by two strokes, the 27-year old had six birdies in an impressive round to lead by a stroke from Portmarnock's Stephen Walsh (69) with Knock's Colin Fairweather and Balmoral's Matthew McClean a shot further back on two under after 70s.

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And he rightly believes he will take some beating around the Des Smyth and Declan Branigan designed Termonfeckin links, despite struggling a little with a cold today.

"I'm feeling bit under the weather believe it or not but im still out to win it that's for sure," Campbell said on a day when just 15 players in the field shot par or better. "Matchplay is tricky but I think with the way I'm playing I hope I will be hard to beat.

"I've got to say I am very impressed with Seapoint. The course was set up very fairly and the greens were in excellent condition."

He  got off to a nice perfect start with birdies at his first two holes — the 10th and 11th — and after a bogey at the 12th he parred his way to the 16th where he made birdie from 10 feet.

He then hit an eight-iron to 10 feet at the par three 17th and made the putt to go three under before holing a 25 footer at the first to get to four under par through 10 holes.

Clearly in confident mood, Campbell hit a six-iron to 15 feet at the second and holed the putt to streak clear of the field on five under and while he bogeyed the seventh, his 68 puts him in position to challenge for the medal as the leading qualifier on Sunday.

Walsh, winner of the South of Ireland in 2011, had six birdies in his 69 on a day that saw O'Flaherty bounce back well from his disappointment at Baltray, carding three twos on Seapoint's tricky par-threes.

 

Irish Amateur Close Championship, Seapoint Golf Links (Par 72)

Sponsored by AIG

Live scoring here

First round

68 Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint)

69 Stephen Walsh (Portmarnock)

70 Colin Fairweather (Knock), Matthew McClean (Balmoral)

71 Stuart Grehan (Tullamore), Declan Loftus (Castlebar), Shaun O'Connor (Luttrellstown Castle), Gary O'Flaherty (Cork)

72 Pat Murray (Limerick), Peter McKeever (Castle), Gary Collins (Rosslare), Daniel Holland (Castle), Ian O'Rourke (The Royal Dublin), Michael Sinclair (Knock), Gary McDermott (Carton House)

73 Conor Purcell (Portmarnock), Brian Ronan (Co. Louth), Louis O'Hara (Athenry), Kevin Stack (Dungarvan)

74 Sean Alley (Co. Tipperary), James Monaghan (The Royal Dublin), Craig Melvin (Corrstown), Stephen Watts (Cairndhu), Greg Carew (Edenderry), Rory Williamson (Holywood), Eanna Griffin (Waterford), Richard Bridges (Stackstown), Stephen Healy (Claremorris), Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth), Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock)

75 Keagan Cummings (Elm Park), Andrew Magee (Powerscourt), Colm Crowley (Woodbrook), Robbie Pierse (Grange), John McGinn (Laytown & Bettystown), Tommy O'Driscoll (Ring Of Kerry), Padraic O'Brien (Co. Louth), Alex McCloy (Ballymena), Alexander Wilson (Portmarnock), Alan Thomas (Dungarvan), Seamus Cullen (Slieve Russell)

76 Daniel O'Connor (Athlone), Joe Lyons (Galway), Barry Anderson (The Royal Dublin), Ian Spillane (Mallow), Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene), Conor Coyne (Youghal), Declan Reidy (Co. Sligo), Gareth Lappin (Belvoir Park), Marc Nolan (Delgany), Ruairi O'Connor (Co. Sligo), Ross Mohan (The Island), Nigel Beirth (Co. Louth), Aaron Grant (Dundalk), Marc Boucher (Carton House), Darragh Hogan (Killeen Castle), Alan Lowry (Esker Hills), James Fox (Portmarnock), Stephen Kinch (Hollystown), Keith Murphy (Charlesland), Mark Morrissey (Mount Wolseley), Harry McHugh (Skerries), William Russell (Clandeboye)

77 David Carey (Carton House), Paul Burke (Mullingar), Ryan McKinstry (Cairndhu), Cathal Butler (Kinsale), Jonathan Gourley (Shandon Park), Alex Gleeson (Castle), Ben Best (Rathmore), Gary McGrane (The Royal Dublin), David Brady (Co. Sligo), Rowan Lester (Hermitage), Ryan Symington (Lisburn), Paul Reavey (Warrenpoint)

78 William Hanna (Kilkeel), Steffan O'Hara (Co. Sligo), Paul Coughlan (Moate), Colum Kenny (Curragh), Stuart Bleakley (Shandon Park), Kieran Lynch (Skibbereen), Kevin Le Blanc (The Island), Barry Fennelly (The Royal Dublin), Declan Kelly (Hermitage), Shaun Carter (Stackstown), Chris Tormey (Corballis Links), Ryan O'Doherty (Enniscrone), Edward Kennedy (Woodbrook), Jack Pierse (Portmarnock), Shane McGlynn (Carton House)

79 Gerard MacNamara (Portmarnock), Jamie Richardson (Royal Portrush), Stephen Loftus (Lahinch), Darragh Conlon (Athenry), Richard Knightly (The Royal Dublin), Gareth Bohill (Co. Louth), Greg Mungovan (Headfort), Stephen Brady (Co. Sligo), Eoin Arthurs (Forrest Little.), Conor Mccaughey (Dungannon), David Byrne (Athenry), Cian Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown), Eamonn O'Driscoll (Ring Of Kerry), Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk), Keith Egan (Carton House)

80 Ronan Mullarney (Galway), Bernard Bermingham (Carton House), Ian O'Flynn (Cork), Martin Hynes (Athenry), Ally Purdy (Ballyclare), Eoghan O'Donovan (Craddockstown), Jamie Fletcher (Warrenpoint), John-Ross Galbraith (Whitehead), Sean Maloney (Dunmurry Springs)

81 Thomas O'Connor (Athlone), Shane Hogan (Nenagh), Daniel Coyle (Co. Louth), Neil Cullen (Beaverstown), Eoghan McKeever (Castle), Ruairi Kennelly (Portmarnock), Daniel Cosgrove (Kilcock), James Kelly (Elm Park)

82 Liam Hutchinson (The Royal Dublin), John Hickey (Cork), Liam Harnett (Milltown), Ciaran Smyth (Greenore), Stephen McCarthy (Black Bush), Paul Cox (Strandhill), Ian Lynch (Rosslare)

83 Ger Cohen (Beaverstown), Daniel Brennan (Shannon)

84 Ross McKeever (Castle)

85 Thomas Fay (Rush), Conor Rankin (Royal Portrush), John Garvey (Seapoint)

86 Sean Denny (Castleblayney), Rory O'Connor (Strandhill), Brian O'Reilly (Athenry)

88 Eoghan Murphy (Cork)

89 Damien McDonough (Galway)

WD  Bob Loftus (Lahinch), Paraic Connolly (Killeen Castle)