Great players hit great shots under pressure and Joe Lyons was thrilled to rifle a beauty to Westport’s 18th to give Galway AIG Senior Cup victory over Carton House.

Jason Sugrue (Mallow), Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk), Mark Power (Kilkenny), and Conor Purcell (Portmarnock), all of whom began the week at Hoylake, Royal Liverpool, preparing for the Walker Cup match against the United States in September, were all eliminated from the Pierse Motors sponsored South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch yesterday.

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.

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.

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.