West Waterford’s Gary Hurley stormed into the lead in the European Amateur Championship on the Dukes Course at St Andrews yesterday following a stunning opening round.

Maurice Kelly will be aiming to complete a magnificent quick-fire double when he competes at the British Seniors Amateur Championship, which gets underway at Ganton, Yorkshire, this morning.

Hoylake is a course with a fond record for Irish golf but only those who stay out of the deep rough at a lush, green Royal Liverpool will have any chance of winning The Open next week.

Ireland made golfing history at the weekend by becoming the first country to win both the senior men’s and women’s Team Championships in the same year.

Pádraig Harrington sent his penultimate shot a dozen rows deep into a final hole grandstand but then chipped-in for birdie to be just three strokes from the lead after two rounds of the Omega European Masters.

Michael Quirke (Doneraile) is the Irish Seniors Amateur Open champion after winning a three-hole play-off with American Bev Hargraves, whose final round 72 closed what had began as a four-shot gap.

Cork’s Michael Quirke maintained his strong bid, at sunny Malone yesterday, to land his first All-Ireland Seniors’ Amateur Open Championship title and goes into today’s final action with a three shots cushion.

Ireland were denied a fifth consecutive senior men’s Home International title at Southerndown on the south Wales coast yesterday by a much-improved England outfit.

Arthur Pierse faltered in the final round of the British Seniors Open Amateur Championship at Machynys Peninsula in West Wales but still finished as the top Irishman.

Major champions Darren Clarke, Pádraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy were fine-tuning their British Open preparations yesterday and so missed out on a special day at Mullingar Golf Club.

Garth McGimpsey retained his Tourism Malaysia-sponsored Irish senior men’s amateur golf title after a tense final day at Clandeboye.

Adrian Morrow flew home from Austria yesterday on cloud nine after conquering a top class field to clinch the European Seniors Amateur Championship.

Rory McIlroy was closer to missing a third successive cut than challenging joint leader Tiger Woods in the second round of the weather-delayed Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village last night.

IRELAND won the Men’s Senior Home International Championship for an unprecedented fourth successive year at Woodhall Spa in Lincolnshire yesterday and completed the Triple Crown with a 7-2 trouncing of England.

IRELAND remain very much in contention for a second successive European Seniors Championship but luck was very much on their side in yesterday’s semi-final against Germany at Shannon.

CHAMPIONS Ireland are ideally poised to figure among the leading four countries who will remain in contention for the European Seniors Amateur Championship after today’s second round at Shannon Golf Club.

IRELAND will be well fancied to retain their title when the third European Amateur Seniors Team Championship takes place at Shannon Golf Club this week.

FOUR members of the Irish side that retained the European Team Championship in Turin this month contest the South of Ireland, which begins at Lahinch this morning.

Around 140,000 young salmon have been killed off the coast of Northern Ireland by a huge group of jellyfish, producers said tonight.

Stewart Ginn leads by two at the AIB Irish Seniors Open at Palmerstown House heading into the final day.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy cruised into the last 16 of the Golfsure Irish Amateur Close at The European Club.

Big-hitting Andrew Pitcher led the qualifiers in the Golfsure Irish Amateur Close Championship at the European Club.

Odd couple Rory McIlroy and Adrian Morrow survived the carnage to lead after the first qualifying round of the Golfsure Irish Amateur Close Championship at the European Club.

Holywood's Rory McIlroy and Portmarnock veteran Adrian Morrow share the clubhouse lead in the Golfsure Irish Amateur Close Championship at the European Club.

Defending champion Rory McIlroy has set his sights on Tiger Woods' course record in the Irish Close at the European Club.

Irishman Adrian Morrow, a member at Portmarnock Golf Club, won the silver medal which goes to the leading amateur who completes four rounds of the Senior British Open Championship.

Five time British Open winner Tom Watson has taken the lead in the British Seniors Open at Royal Aberdeen.

Irish Amateur Close Championship at Westport Golf Club

GOOD enough to stage any event — even the Ryder Cup. That was Sam Torrance’s considered view about the Seve Ballesteros designed Heritage course yesterday, after he opened the AIB Irish Seniors Open with a four under par 68 in blustery and often showery conditions.

Charlie Mulqueen, The Heritage

YOU might have expected the battle-hardened golfers of Portmarnock to be just a little blasé after winning their 18th Bulmers Irish Senior Cup at Lisburn on Saturday but such was, in fact, far from the case.

A PORTMARNOCK team of vast experience clashes with a bunch of youngsters from Malone in this morning’s final of the Bulmers Irish Senior Cup at Lisburn.

A WEEKEND holding out so much promise for Clare opened on the brightest possible note at Galway yesterday when Woodstock captured their first national pennant with a convincing Pierce Purcell Shield final victory over Moyola Park from Co Derry.

MICK MORRIS and Billy Rice once played unavailingly in an Irish Senior Cup final for Limerick Golf Club against Shandon Park.