Limerick's Pat Murray clinched his first amateur major when he romped to an impressive 5 and 4 win over Newlands' Cian Curley to take the Irish Close title Enniscrone.

Irish champion Pat MurrayThe Tipperary native, 37, has come close to grabbing a top amateur title several times over the past 15 years. In the South of Ireland championship alone, he has lost in the semi-finals on four occasions.

The Close has not been his friend in recent years and after failing to qualifying in 2005 and then losing in the first round for the last three years, he finally got over the line at the Sligo links with a superb performance against Irish international Curley, who was a beaten semi-finalist in 2007 and 2008.

Limerick's Pat Murray is within touching distance of his first amateur major after cruising in the semi-finals of the Irish Amateur Close Championship at Enniscrone.