Ireland’s Robin Dawson and Geoff Lenehan proved that week of red-meat eating does your game no harm as they fired rounds of 64 and 65 respectively to top the qualifiers for the Argentinian Amateur Open Championship in Buenos Aires.

Torrential rain meant they could only play nine holes of the first qualifying round on Tuesday with both men shooting one over 35s on the front nine at Tortugas Country Club in northwest Buenos Aires.

Scores

But the carnivorous Irish pair made hay on Wednesday with Faithlegg and Mayooth talent Dawson claiming the Kenneth Gordon Davis Cup as the leading qualifier with a five under par total of 99 strokes for 27 holes following his second round 64.

Dawson gobbled up birdies at the third, fourth, seventh, 16th and 18th as well as an eagle at the 11th with his only bogey of the day coming at the 10th.

The invidivial winner of the European Universities Golf Championships in Switzerland earlier this year and a marthplay expert having reached the quarter-finals of the North of Ireland Open Championship and Spanish Amateur Championship 

“I’m delighted to play in this championship,” Dawson told the Argentinian Golf Association website. 

Full of praise for the course, Dawson added: “I’m ready for the matchplay. Since I’ve been here in Argentina they have treated me very well.”

Dawson’s wing man on this occasion is the seemingly quiet but ravenously competitive Portmarnock man Lenehan, who was pleased to add an immaculate, five under 65 to his opening 35 and shoot 100 to tie for second with the Australian Cameron John and the Canadian Eric Banks, the latter a winner of the Copa Juan Carlos Tailhade last week.

Matchplay Draw

Dawson now takes on Alfonso Viegas Neves of Portugal while Lenehan squares up the Brazilian Daniel Ishii with an all-Irish quarter-final on the radar.