Defending champion Arron Edwards-Hill and leading qualifier Joshua Hill crashed out on a day of shocks in the North of Ireland Amateur Open at Royal Portrush.

Royal Dublin’s Richard Knightly, a player in fine form, defeated Edwards-Hill by one hole before he came from behind to defeat Tandragee’s Ross Dutton on the 19th and set up a last 16 clash with Douglas’ Peter O’Keeffe.

“The match against Arron this morning was a ridiculous standard,” Knightly said. “Both of us were well under par. The last six holes were all won with a birdie. He was the reigning champion for a reason, so I was delighted to get the win.

“I played solid this afternoon, and Ross played very well. I lost a ball on 10 and that swung it in his favour until the 18th. I hit a super wedge to six feet on 19 for the win.”

Hill was eliminated by Mullingar’s Adam Smith in round two on a day when only two of the top 16 from strokeplay qualifying survived.

North of Ireland Amateur Open, Royal Portrush

Detailed scores

Round two

Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) bt Ross Dutton (Tandragee) 19th

Peter O'Keeffe (Douglas) bt Lorcan O’Connor (Edmondstown) 19th

David Kitt (Athenry) bt Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) 5&3

Paul Coughlan (Castleknock) bt Charlie Denvir (Elm Park) 2&1

Alex Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown) bt Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock) 3&2

Darragh Flynn (Carton House) bt David Marshall Jnr (Naas)

Andrew McCormack (Castletroy) bt Thomas Finnegan (Co. Sligo) 19th

Adam Smith (Mullingar) bt Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle) 3&2

Michael Reid (Galgorm Castle) bt Gareth Lappin (Belvoir Park) 3&1

John Cleary (Elm Park) bt Joseph Byrne (Baltinglass) 3&1

Robert Galligan (Elm Park) bt Jordan Boles (Charleville) 3&1

Chris Black (Dunmurry) bt James Hewitt (Tandragee) 3&1

Shaun Carter (Royal Dublin) bt Sean McAufield (Ardee) 6&4

Joshua Robinson (Lisburn) bt Jack McDonnell Forrest Little) 1 hole

Max Kennedy (Royal Dublin) bt Liam Nolan (Galway) 3&1

Sean Keeling (Roganstown) bt Jamie Stothers Tandragee) 2 holes

Round one

Ross Dutton (Tandragee) bt Keaton Morrison (Royal Portrush)) 1 Hole

Richard Knightly (Royal Dublin) bt Arron Edwards-Hill (Chelmsford) 1 Hole

Peter O'Keeffe (Douglas) bt Aaron Kearney (Roe Park) 6&4

Lorcan O’Connor (Edmondstown) bt Jack Owens (Bangor) 4&3

David Kitt (Athenry) bt Damian McKenna (Foyle) 2&1

Eoin Murphy (Dundalk) bt Luke O'Neill (Connemara) 2&1

Paul Coughlan (Castleknock) bt Max Berrisford (Shipley) 5&3

Charlie Denvir (Elm Park) bt Patrick Keeling (Roganstown) 1 Hole

Alex Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown) bt Gerard Dunne (Co. Louth) 3&2 

Andrew Mulholland (Castlerock) bt Adam Cromwell (Co. Armagh) 3&2

David Marshall Jnr (Naas) bt Jack Shellard (Lisburn) 1 Hole

Darragh Flynn (Carton House) Jake Rowe (Tandragee) 2 Holes

Andrew McCormack (Castletroy) bt Conor Ryan (Dun Laoghaire) 4&3

Thomas Finnegan (Co. Sligo) bt Joshua McCabe (Roganstown) 4&3

Adam Smith (Mullingar) bt Jake Whelan (Grange) 3&2 

Joshua Hill (Galgorm Castle) bt Niall Bermingham (Howth) 6&5

Michael Reid (Galgorm Castle) bt Adam McCormick (Scrabo) 20th

Gareth Lappin (Belvoir Park) bt Hugh O'Hare (Fortwilliam) 3&1

Joseph Byrne (Baltinglass) bt Evan Farrell (Ardee) 2&1 

John Cleary (Elm Park) bt Aaron Marshall (Lisburn) 4&3

Robert Galligan (Elm Park) bt Ben Best (Rathmore) 1 Hole

Jordan Boles (Charleville) bt Rian Carvill (Warrenpoint) 2&1

James Hewitt (Tandragee) bt Andrew Hickey (Galway Bay) 3&2 

Chris Black (Dunmurry) bt Jack Blake (The Island) 3&2

Sean McAufield (Ardee) bt Conor Murtagh (The Island) 3&1

Shaun Carter (Royal Dublin) bt Lachlan Reynolds (Rothesay) 21st

Joshua Robinson (Lisburn) bt John Robinson (Ballymena) 5&3 

Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little) bt Joseph Hanney (The Island) 5&4

Liam Nolan (Galway) bt Shane Irwin (Killeen) 4&3

Max Kennedy (Royal Dublin) bt Jack Doherty (Carton House) 1 Hole 

Jamie Stothers (Tandragee) bt Jack Egan (Muskerry) 4&3

Sean Keeling (Roganstown) bt Stephen Cunningham (Esker Hills) 6&4