Star-studded line-up for battle royal at Lahinch

FOUR of Ireland’s finest have qualified for this morning’s semi-finals of the Shell South of Ireland at Lahinch.

Defending champion Colm Moriarty (Athlone), 24, meets the 2001 champion Justin Kehoe (Birr), 23, in the first match and they are followed by Mallow’s Mervyn Owens, 22, who has made a very welcome return to form after a few years in the wilderness, and 25 year-old Michael McGeady from City of Derry.

It is to be ardently hoped that the weather for today’s closing stages is a lot more amenable than it was yesterday when the rain and wind in the first half of the day was so severe that the championship committee postponed the quarter-finals for an hour in the hope that the elements might relent a little. But it was still hard going by any standards, something to which David Finn, one of two Mallow players to reach the last eight, will readily testify.

Finn turned three down in his clash with Kehoe but won the 10th and looked a good bet to narrow the gap still further when his tee shot landed 25 feet from the hole at the 11th with his opponent in trouble. His first putt pulled up about a yard short, stopped momentarily, and began to trickle back before the Mallowman had a chance to mark his ball. It then rolled all the way back to the front of the green, allowing Kehoe to escape with an unlikely half in bogey fours. Kehoe regained his grip on the proceedings after that let-off and went on to win at the 15th.

Kehoe’s semi-final contest this morning with Colm Moriarty should be a real cracker. The pair started off the year in style in Australia when Moriarty made sure of his Walker Cup place with two big tournament wins and he will be in the side to face the Americans when it is announced early next week. Unfortunately, Kehoe’s prospects of selection have taken a downturn, although he remains an outstanding golfer certain to test his fellow Midlander to the fullest.

Nevertheless, one couldn’t help but be impressed by the outstanding manner in which Moriarty dealt with a serious challenge from the tough and experienced Limerickman Michael O’Kelly in a superb quarter-final.

It looked all over when O’Kelly had to concede the 13th after a wayward drive to stand three down but he regrouped in highly impressive fashion. He narrowed the gap with a perfectly played par four at the 14th and then hit the green at the 15th with a majestic three wood second. Moriarty was 50 yards short in two but showed his mettle with a great pitch to a couple of yards from where he holed for a half.

O’Kelly’s tee shot to the 16th was no more than eight feet from the hole and though he missed the birdie putt, he still reduced his arrears to one when Moriarty failed to get up and down from the swale to the left back of the green. The burly Limerickman, ideally built to cope with the vile conditions, left himself with another birdie chance at 17 but lipped out and Moriarty did very well to chip dead from the hollow to the left of the green. He then closed the door with a drive and five iron to the heart of the putting surface at the par five 18th. O’Kelly also got home in two but the birdie wasn’t enough to prolong the battle into extra holes.

“It was a great match and Mick played really well over those closing holes,” said Moriarty, who intends to turn professional after the Home Internationals at Ballybunion and the Walker Cup at Ganton in September. “It was so tough physically out there in those conditions, the 17th was about the only par four where the wind was helping. Putting in the wind was also extremely difficult. Mick had a lot of support and never made it easy. It was my first really tight match of the week and I was thrilled to see that five iron from 235 yards at the 18th work out so nicely.”

Whereas Moriarty and Kehoe both know what it is to win a senior championship, Mervyn Owens and Michael McGeady have failed, as yet, to progress that far in spite of enjoying considerable success in their junior days. Owens was in sparkling form in accounting for the experienced John Morris by four and two and Westport golfer Noel Kavanagh by four and three. Owens won the first three holes in his quarter-final. “When you get a start like that, you just make sure of keeping mistakes to a minimum. I played solidly and didn’t really give him a look in,” Owens said.