A blistering front nine of five under par 31 gave Steven Quinlan the platform to go on and win the Pierse Motors Ballykisteen Pro-Am on Tuesday.

The Halpenny golf professional eagled the par five third and added three further birdies at Ballykisteen Golf & Country Club to take a firm grip on proceedings.

The 26-year-old couldn't maintain that form after turning for home with birdies at the 13th and 17th cancelled out by dropped shots at the two par threes, the twelfth and 15th.

“The eagle at the third and the birdie at the next really got my round kick-started,” said Steven. “The putter went a wee bit cold after the turn, but I hit the ball reasonably well all day.

“I've played pretty well all season without managing to post a score, so I was delighted to finally manage to do that today. I actually thought that I might be a couple short, but that's golf, sometimes it goes your way.”

Colm Moriarty (Drive Golf Performance) - who had two eagles in his round - finished in second place on four under par. The 37-year-old, who started his round with a birdie at the ninth, was left to rue a triple-bogey seven at the par four 14th which proved very costly.

Michael McDermott (Pure Golf Leopardstown), Ciaran Molloy (Blackwood GC), Brian McElhinney (North West) and Hazel Kavanagh (Carr Golf Centre) finished third on three under par.

Headfort's Joe Dillon and amateurs partners Bill Hanley, Bara O'Dwyer and Brendan O'Keefe won the team prize with 96pts.

Pierse Motors Ballykisteen Pro-Am, presented by Pierse Motors, Ballykisteen Golf & Country Club (par 72)

Detailed scores

67 S Quinlan

68 C Moriarty

70 C Molloy, M McDermott, B McElhinney,  H Kavanagh

71 D McGrane, R Kilpatrick, B McGovern, J Quinlivan, N Murray, M Staunton.