The sunny south-east lived up to its reputation in style at Tramore, Co Waterford, yesterday when the opening day of the AIG Irish Close Championship was favoured by glorious weather conditions.

A Maynooth University team of considerable talent has emerged as warm favourites to capture the AIG Irish Senior Cup, having come through the Leinster qualifying section in highly impressive fashion.

Memories of the 1987 final at Tramore will be revived this week when the AIG Irish Close Championship takes place over the outstanding seaside layout for the third time.

“When it’s breezy, swing it easy” is a well-known golfing adage and it proved to be just the advice Alan Lowry needed to follow in the footsteps of his famous big brother and win the Mullingar Electrical Scratch Trophy.

Stuart Grehan from Tullamore was last night crowned winner of the 114th South of Ireland Championship after a four and three final win over Ulster golfer Colin Fairweather from Knock.

With the majority of young amateurs nowadays turning professional as soon as they make any kind of mark in the championship arena, the days of course specialists have more or less dwindled away to nothing. 

Paul McBride, a student at the famous golfing academy of Wake Forest in North Carolina which numbers Arnold Palmer, Eoghan O’Connell and Darren Clarke among its alumni, demonstrated once again at Lahinch yesterday that Malahide continues to produce young golfers of the highest calibre.

Ever since the distinguished golf course architect Martin Hawtree modified and considerably altered the famous old links in 2001, Lahinch has become a formidable challenge for the game’s finest, whether amateur or professional.

With handicaps ranging from plus 4 to 1.1, the high quality of the entry for the West Coast Hotels sponsored South of Ireland Championship beginning at Lahinch this morning is a source of considerable satisfaction for the organising committee.

Munster’s bid for a third Interprovincial Championship victory in four years was crushed decisively by Leinster’s young guns on the Sandy Hills at Rosapenna Hotel and Golf Resort in Donegal.

Four golfers whose names don’t really ring a bell for followers of the amateur game have qualified for this morning’s semi-finals of the Clare Coast Hotels South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch.

Arthur Pierse has been coming to Lahinch for more than 40 years in search of the Clare Coast Hotels South of Ireland Championship.

When you are one of the championship favourites and things are going against you, there is always a good time to produce a shot out of the ordinary.

In-form Shane Lowry returns to the US Open arena this week, no longer just happy to be there as he was on his debut three years ago but confident that he can compete in a major championship.

A definite whiff of cordite left behind by the announcement of the Irish team for next month’s Home Internationals before a ball was struck in the South of Ireland, combined with electrical storms that caused a suspension of play in both of the opening two rounds, injected a considerable deal of spice into the action at Lahinch over the past two days.

UCC’s Ian O’Rourke smashed the men’s course record at Strandhill Golf Club with a dazzling eight-under-par 62 to coast to victory in the second event in the Intervarsity Series.

An airplane at the centre of a mid-air emergency has been grounded at Belfast while an investigation is carried out, it emerged tonight.