Ruaidhrí McGee delivered a five-star display at Frilford Heath yesterday to lie just off the pace in the first stage of the European Tour Qualifying School.

PAUL CUTLER crashed out of the first stage of the European Tour Qualifying dream last night after a thoroughly disappointing few days at Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire.

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

RORY McIlroy is working harder than ever to get ready for the new season after splitting up with his girlfriend of six years over the Christmas break.

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.

ALAN DUNBAR led the Irish brigade at the 115th British Amateur Championship in Scotland yesterday with a champagne performance.

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.

DARREN CLARKE believes his close friend Tiger Woods got it right in opting for next month’s US Masters as his return to golf.

FROM champions to wooden spoonists in the space of 12 months — that was the story for Ireland yesterday as the Men’s Amateur Home Internationals ended at Hillside on the Lancashire coast.

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.

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.

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.

Shane Lowry can still win the Lytham Trophy despite a nightmare finish to his third round.

Ireland's Shane Lowry is just two strokes off the pace entering Sunday's final 36 holes of the prestigious Lytham Trophy.

SHANE LOWRY, Paul Cutler and Niall Kearney, all members of Ireland’s winning team at the 2008 European Amateur Team Championships, have been included in the Great Britain & Ireland squad ahead of September’s Walker Cup.

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.

LEINSTER include the three outstanding players of the amateur season so far — Shane Lowry, Niall Kearney and Paul O’Hanlon — in their side for the Interprovincial Championship getting under way at Athlone tomorrow.

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.

SEAMUS POWER (West Waterford) defends his Irish Youths Amateur Open Championship title at Lisburn on Thursday and Friday and, if successful, will become only the second player in the history of the event to win the title on three separate occasions, following John McHenry’s wins in 1980, 1981 and 1985.

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.

Forrest Little's Eoin Arthurs romped to a four-stroke win in the East of Ireland Championship at Co Louth today.

Forrest Little's Eoin Arthurs took advantage of perfect early morning conditions to scorch to a six-under par 66 and a two stroke lead in the East of Ireland Amateur Championship at County Louth.

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

Ulster secured an impressive victory against Connacht in the Youths Interprovincial Matches at Donegal Golf Club today.

The team to represent Ireland in the European Team Championship at Western Gailes Golf Club, Scotland, 7th July 3 and 7:

Walker Cup skipper Colin Dalgleish has hailed Holywood star Rory McIlroy as a similar talent to Spanish wonderkid Sergio Garcia.

Rory McIlroy was in form again today as Ulster secured the Interprovincial Championship crown at Ballyliffin.

Ulster and Leinster today enjoyed convincing Interprovicial victories at the Ballyliffin Golf Club.

Ulster and Leinster both hold comfortable leads at the Interprovincial Championship at Ballyliffin after today's action.

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