Irish amateur star Alan Dunbar survived a collapse over the closing seven holes at Wychwood Park before managing to squeeze through to the second stage of European Tour qualifying.

Paul Cutler’s European Tour career remains on hold after the former Walker Cup star missed the 54-hole cut at the first stage of the Qualifying School for the second year in a row.

James Fox can follow in the footsteps of his brother Noel if he takes advantage of a four-stroke overnight lead and wins the East of Ireland Amateur Open at Baltray today.

The Team Ireland Golf Trust yesterday announced grants of €157,000 to 15 players pursuing their careers on professional tours.

NOW that Ireland is providing two of the three vice captains to the European Ryder Cup cause, and possibly three players to the team itself, this must be regarded as the golden era for golf in this country.

IRELAND’S hopes of winning a third European Men’s Amateur team title in four years were dashed in Sweden yesterday when they failed to make the top flight for the matchplay phase.

FOUR Irish amateurs have the opportunity to emulate Shane Lowry’s amazing success at Baltray last year and upstage the professionals in the ‘3’ Irish Open Championship.

KEEPING Rathmore golfers out of the news these days is far from being an easy task.

PAUL CUTLER, the Portstewart golfer who reached the British Amateur Championship quarter-finals at Muirfield yesterday before going down to the South Korean, Jin Jeong, won’t need to contest the weekend’s 36-hole qualifying procedure for the Golfsure Irish Close Championship at Royal Dublin.

PAUL CUTLER will aim this week to build on his early-season success and keep his name very much to the forefront of the minds of Great Britain and Ireland selectors as they prepare to put together the St Andrews Trophy side for later in the summer.

A total of 13 Irish players are included in the field for the 115th Amateur Championship which gets underway next Monday June 14 at Muirfield & North Berwick Golf Clubs.

THEY say the weather alters one’s mood but the momentous change in the conditions at Baltray over the weekend didn’t seem to bother Newlands’ Cian Curley as he opened a commanding four-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship.

ULSTER justified pre-tournament favouritism at Douglas yesterday when they defeated Leinster 7½-5½ on the final day of the Golfsure Interprovincial Championship to complete the grand slam and regain the title they last held in 2006.

REVITALISED Munster staged a dramatic fight back in the afternoon singles to force a tie with Leinster on the second day of the Golfsure Inteprovincial Championship at Douglas yesterday. Nevertheless, the stage is still set today for a showdown between Leinster and Ulster, who had a comfortable victory over Connacht and go into the decider with a 100% record.

Defending champions Leinster were held 6 ½ - 6 ½ by Munster on the second day of the Golfsure sponsored Interprovincial Championships at Douglas Golf Club, while Ulster beat Connacht by 9 ½ - 3 ½ .

WITH the notable exception of Niall Kearney, Ireland’s only representative in the British & Irish Walker Cup team next month, the country’s leading amateur golfers will all be in action over the next three days in the Golfsure Interprovincial Championship at Douglas.

THIS will be a big weekend on and off the course for several of our leading golfers.

MONDAY madness is nothing new in the South of Ireland and so it came to pass yesterday when four members of the Irish team in the recent European Championship were yesterday all eliminated in the third and fourth rounds at Lahinch.

Defending South of Ireland Championship champion Niall Kearney suffered a shock defeat in the third round of the 2009 event today at Lahinch.

PAT MURRAY has the ideal opportunity to show the Irish selectors the error of their ways in the 108th South of Ireland Championship which begins at Lahinch today.

IRELAND begin their bid this morning to become the first country for almost four decades to win three European Amateur Team titles on the bounce.

PAT MURRAY has been waiting a long time, but yesterday he finally won the big win so long overdue when he came good in the Golfsure Irish Close Championship at Enniscrone.

DAVID Corsby withstood the challenge of the two highest-ranked players in the field to win the Radisson-SAS West of Ireland championship in sensational fashion at Rosses Point yesterday.

Shane Lowry failed to retain his West of Ireland Amateur Open title when he was beaten by England’s David Corsby’s 19th hole birdie in a dramatic decider at Rosses Point today.

Shane Lowry finished sixth in the European Nations Championship at Sotogrande as England's Sam Hutsby beat Spain's Carlos Pigem Xammar to take title at the first extra hole.

Royal Dublin's Niall Kearney is the best of the Irish entering Saturday's final round of the European Nations Championship at Sotogrande in Spain.

Shane Lowry is seven shots off the pace in his defence of the individual title in the European Nations Championship at Sotogrande.

PAUL CUTLER continued his rich vein of form yesterday to grab a place among the first-round leaders in the European Amateur Individual Golf championship in Denmark.

CLASS, youth and fitness made all the difference at Athlone yesterday when Leinster won the Golfsure Interprovincial Championship for the first time since 2004 by beating Munster 7-6 in an enthralling decider.

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.

Paul O'Hanlon from The Curragh is the new Irish Close champion after defeating Dara Lernihan from the Castle inyesterday's final, at Belvoir Park in Belfast.

The line-up for tomorrow's semi-final in the Golfsure Irish Amateur Close Championship at Belvoir Park in Belfast is Paul O'Hanlon from the Curragh against Scrabo's Andrew McCormick and Newlands' player Cian Curley against his friend Dara Lernihan from the Castle.

Irish champion Shane Lowry and Royal Dublin's Niall Kearney were the only Irishmen to make the cut in the Lytham Trophy.

Ireland's Shane Lowry took another step towards making his Walker Cup debut next year when he captured the prestigious Sotogrande Cup after a sudden-death play-off.

Irish champion Shane Lowry is just one stroke off the lead entering Friday's third round of the Sotogrande Cup in Spain.

Five Irish internationals have made an early exit from the West of Ireland championship at Rosses Point.

Newlands’ Andrew Hogan defied 40 mph gusts to card a four-under par 67 and grab the silver medal for the leading qualifier in the West of Ireland Championship at Rosses Point.

Dunmurry’s Darren Crowe has withdrawn from Ireland’s team for the Home Internationals at Co Louth Golf Club September 19-21.

Hurling great Davy Fitzgerald grabbed a shock win over Newlands’ Cian Curley in the South of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Lahinch today.

CONTROVERSIAL Clare goalkeeper Davy Fitzgerald faces a conflict of interest should he come through his first round match in the McNamara Builders South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch tomorrow.

Clandeboye's Jonathan Caldwell made it a birthday to remember, finishing joint top at the Golfsure Irish Amateur Close at Cork yesterday.

Walker Cup hopeful Jonathan Caldwell staked a strong claim for selection in yesterday's Irish Amatuer Close Championship at Cork, where he shot a five under par 67 to lead the field after day one.

Walker Cup hopefuls Simon Ward and Jonathan Caldwell will lead the chase for the East of Ireland Amateur Open at Co Louth on Saturday.

Sixteen-year-old Rory McIlroy (Holywood), who successfully defended the West of Ireland