Byrne impresses as Irish Boys heads for Wales
Joseph Byrne (Baltinglass) holes his putt on the 11th green during the final day of the 2018 Irish Boys Amateur Open Championship at Belvoir Park Golf Club today (29/06/2018). Picture by Pat Cashman
Joseph Byrne showed his class by taking the Under 16 medal as Welsh raider Archie Davies snatched the Irish Boys Amateur Open title from French star Theo Boulet at Belvoir Park.
The Baltinglass teenager (15) closed with a second successive, two-under 69 to finish third, just four shots behind the winner on four-under-par.
"I know I can compete so it's nice to prove that I can," said Byrne, who is a two-time winner of the Leinster Boys Under-14 Championship.
Davies (17) overcame a two-stroke deficit, closing with a 69 to win by three strokes on eight-under-par from overnight leader Boulet, who was bidding for a wire-to-wire win.
The French visitor had a three-shot cushion after he birdied the 10th to go two-under for the day. But he dropped five shots in his next four holes, carding a three-over 74 to finish second on five-under.
"I wasn't really playing my best and I just ground it out," said Davies, who won the North Wales Boys in May.
"This tops it. It’s the best golf I’ve played and definitely the lowest four rounds in a row I’ve had in a tournament.”
Irish Boys Amateur Open Championship, Belvoir Park (Par 71)
Final
276 A Davies (Wal) 69 70 68 69;
279 T Boulet (Fra) 67 71 67 74;
280 J Byrne (Baltinglass) 70 72 69 69;
285 N Trey (Fra) 74 71 69 71, J Robinson (Lisburn) 67 72 72 74;
287 D Kitt (Athenry) 68 73 76 70; 288 T McKibbin (Holywood) 73 71 73 71;
289 A Blair (Scrabo) 75 73 75 66, C Denvir (Elm Park) 73 74 71 71, D Li (Ger) 73 70 73 73, J McCabe (Roganstown) 69 74 71 75;
290 H Arnold (Eng) 75 73 72 70, A Marshall (Lisburn) 74 74 72 70;
291 R Galligan (Elm Park) 77 72 69 73, J Hill (Galgorm Castle) 74 74 71 72, J Brady (Rosslare) 73 74 77 67, C Byrne (Strabane) 73 74 71 73;
292 S Doyle (Black Bush) 72 75 76 69, S Burrell (Esp) 70 74 76 72;
293 E Rowe (Tandragee) 76 73 72 72, A Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown) 73 70 75 75, S O'Brien (Nenagh) 73 67 79 74, B Pierleoni (Eng) 72 72 72 77;
294 J Hull (Eng) 77 70 74 73, D Leufer (Athenry) 73 76 74 71, L Nolan (Galway) 71 80 72 71, S Dowling (The Island) 70 76 74 74;
295 D Raher (Dungarvan) 73 71 75 76, H Islam (Eng) 68 77 72 78;
296 C Rabbette (Esker Hills) 74 71 74 77, D West (Eng) 72 77 70 77, R Carvill (Warrenpoint) 68 76 78 74;
297 G Herlihy (Castle) 74 73 78 72, H Archer (Fra) 73 75 76 73;
298 M Deasy (Bantry Bay) 74 76 72 76, R McNelis (Fintona) 74 71 80 73, S Miller (Clandeboye) 73 76 75 74, O Maguire (Slieve Russell) 69 78 74 77;
299 J Connolly (Lahinch) 81 71 71 76, E Murphy (Dundalk) 80 71 73 75, P Naughton (Limerick) 75 76 74 74;
300 S Walker (Roscommon) 79 73 73 75, P Conroy (Enniscorthy) 76 74 74 76, A Greville (Wal) 75 72 78 75;
301 P Beauvy (Fra) 75 74 75 77, D Rochford (Bray) 74 76 70 81, A d'Aurelle de Paladines (Fra) 73 73 75 80;
302 A Hill (Athenry) 77 77 70 78;
303 C Murtagh (Balcarrick) 73 77 75 78;
304 K Morrison (Greenacres) 74 72 78 80;
305 J O'Riordan (Dungarvan) 77 75 73 80;
310 S Irwin (Killeen) 76 75 74 85.
