Keating fires 65 to go seven clear in Munster Boys
Dylan Keating (Seapoint). Picture by Pat Cashman
Seapoint's Dylan Keating fired an incredible seven-under-par 65 to take a commanding seven-stroke lead into the final round of the Munster Boys Championship at Ballybunion.
Capped in this year’s Boys Home Internationals, he dropped just one shot and made six birdies and an eagle three over the Cashen Course to post the best score of the day by four strokes and lead on level par from Roscommon's Thomas Higgins, who shot 73.
Keating birdied the first and eighth, then eagled the par-five ninth to turn in 33.
He started his back nine with a bogey at the 10th but birdied the 12th, 13th, 15th and 17th to race clear of the field.
His round was all the more impressive considering the CSS for the second round was 73.
Just five players broke par on day two of the 54-hole championship.
Kinsale's Eoghan Cassidy fired a 69 to move up to tied 12th while Eoghan O'Sullivan shot 70 as Faithlegg's Rory Fives and Powerscourt's Aiden O'Carroll carded a brace of 71s.
Roscommon star Higgins went out in two-under 35 thanks to an eagle at the ninth but dropped three shots coming home for his 73.
Fives is eight shots behind Keating, tied for third on eight over-par with Connemara's Luke O'Neill (73), Edmondstown's Liam Abom (73) and overnight leader Fionn Hickey, who shot 76.
Munster Boys Championship, Ballybunion GC (Cashen, Par 72)
Qualifiers
144 D Keating (Seapoint) 79 65;
151 T Higgins (Roscommon) 78 73;
152 R Fives (Faithlegg) 81 71, L O'Neill (Connemara) 79 73, L Abom (Edmondstown) 79 73, F Hickey (Muskerry) 76 76;
153 E Sullivan (Carton House) 83 70;
154 J Butler (Naas) 81 73, S Walker (Roscommon) 81 73;
155 D Ford (Co. Sligo) 79 76, L Mitchell (Knock) 76 79;
156 E Cassidy (Kinsale) 87 69, C O'Sullivan (killiney golf club) 83 73, L Cunningham (Galway Bay) 81 75;
157 N O'Callaghan (Greenore) 77 80;
159 S Riordan (Muskerry GC) 83 76, J Berry (Doncaster GC) 81 78;
160 S Downes (Royal Dublin) 86 74, D Behan (Naas) 85 75, O Reilly (Newlands) 83 77, C Flavin (Youghal) 81 79;
161 A Challoner (Galway Bay) 86 75, P McGrath (Cregmore) 85 76, A King (Faithlegg) 83 78;
162 I Winn (Ballyneety) 88 74, B St.John (Portmarnock) 88 74, S Doyle (Black Bush) 87 75;
163 J Murphy (Douglas) 90 73, P Naughton (Limerick) 89 74, M Deasy (Lee Valley) 87 76;
164 A O'Carroll (Powerscourt) 93 71, A Smith (Mullingar) 90 74, L Grinberg (Rinkven GC ) 86 78, C Feeney (Enniscrone) 84 80, M O'Brien (Elm Park) 84 80, C O'Connor (Roscommon) 82 82;
165 F Hoare (Roscommon) 87 78, K McCarthy (Lee valley) 87 78, A Dineen (Cork) 86 79, D Connolly (Castle Dargan) 86 79, R Walsh Jnr (Kinsale) 85 80;
166 C Connell (Newlands) 84 82, T Flanagan (Co. Sligo) 83 83;
167 D Muldowney (Carton House) 92 75, R Feerick (Mallow) 83 84.
Non-qualifiers
168 D Marshall (Naas) 93 75, D O Sullivan (Mallow) 90 78;
169 C Plower (Loughrea) 93 76;
170 E Shipp (Headfort) 96 74;
171 E Prendergast (Claremorris) 86 85, S Calvert (Ballyneety) 83 88;
172 B Scully (Portarlington) 91 81;
173 E Magill (East Clare) 95 78, T Abom (Edmondstown) 94 79;
174 N Griffin (Rosslare) 93 81;
176 L Curran (Westmanstown) 94 82;
177 M Duignan (Royal Dublin) 100 77;
181 D McNicholl (Westmanstown) 104 77, S Carpenter (Forrest Little) 100 81, G Keogh (Galway) 96 85;
188 E Freeman (Naas) 100 88;
195 J Mitten (Westmanstown) 100 95;
NR 88 P Byrne (Ballybunion);
NR 91 J O'Callaghan (Ballybunion);
RTD 94 R Milne (Faithlegg);
NR 95 S Whelan (Royal Tara);
RTD 96 S Lacey (Newlands);
RTD 106 M O'Donoghue (Mallow);
RTD 0 J Mackin (Dundalk).
Final rd. tee-times:
08:00 Feerick, Muldowney, Flanagan;
08:10 Connell, Walsh Jnr, Connolly;
08:20 Dineen, McCarthy, Hoare;
08:30 O’Connor, O’Brien, Feeney;
08:40 Grinberg, Smith, O'Carroll;
08:50 Deasy, Naughton, Murphy;
09:00 Doyle, St.John, Winn;
09:10 King, McGrath, Challoner;
09:20 Flavin, Reilly, Behan;
09:30 Downes, Berry, Riordan;
09:40 O’Callaghan, Cunningham, O’Sullivan;
09:50 Cassidy, Mitchell, Ford;
10:00 Walker, Butler, Sullivan;
10:10 Hickey, Abom, O’Neill;
10:20 Fives, Higgins, Keating.
