McNamara in line to be youngest South winner

CIAN McNamara, an 18-year-old Limerick schoolboy, has played himself into position to become the youngest winner of the Shell South of Ireland since Fred Ballingall in 1897, by reaching the semi-finals in impressive fashion at Lahinch yesterday.

He now faces 22-year-old Richard Kilpatrick, a Toledo University student and a member of Ireland's successful Home International Championship-winning side last year.

The second semi-final involves Greg Bowden, another 22-year-old from Hermitage, and the 1998 champion Johnny Foster.

Yesterday's quarter-finals were blessed with glorious sunshine, and the various provincial and national selection committees will be pleased to see a young and vibrant semi-final line-up. On the other hand, those who bemoan the passing of the days when amateurs could combine a full-time job with various championships will be sorry to see 44-year- old Cork bank manager Pat Lyons and others like Des Morgan of Mullingar and Pat Murray, the Limerick Golf Club secretary/manager, fail to get beyond the last eight.

Lyons put up a tremendous battle before going down at the first tie hole against Kilpatrick.

Two behind after 13, he won the 14th where he knocked a glorious seven iron approach to six inches and levelled at the 17th. After a half in par at the 18th, Lyons punched a nine to the 19th only for Kilpatrick to respond with a beautiful shot to within a yard of the target.

"I missed and he holed and he deserved to win," Lyons accepted.

"It hurts to lose but it proves I'm still competitive and will be for a long time."

Kilpatrick's pace of play was a source of considerable comment and meant that McNamara and Morgan had to wait on many tees.

If official action was taken, it wasn't apparent. It is unusual for one so young to complain of back trouble but the Limerick teenager has been suffering for the past month.

He said: "I'm now very tired. It doesn't affect me very much when I'm swinging the club but it hurts when I walk. I went to bed at 8pm last night and got up at 7am and I could have gone for another three hours."

McNamara led another of the younger brigade, the Curragh's Paul O'Hanlon, by two holes with three to play in the morning's 5th round and he showed his class at the 18th by cracking a drive and three wood to the heart of the green and shaved the hole with his eagle putt.

He was also the classier operator from tee to green in the quarter-final clash with Morgan, who saved himself time and again with some fine chipping and putting.

McNamara, one down after four, levelled at the 7th and went ahead for the first time with a par at the 9th.

A birdie from nine feet at the short 11th and an easy win at the 12th, where the Mullingar man drove out of bounds, stretched the gap to three but Morgan proved just how powerful a hitter he is by driving the green at the 279 yards 13th for a winning birdie. It looked like going all square at the 14th until McNamara holed what he said was a "crucial 30-footer" and it was over when Morgan failed to get up and down from sand at the 15th.

Greg Bowden, the beaten finalist in this year's West of Ireland, used his powerful physique to hit the ball a long way, reducing the 534 yards 2nd to a drive and four iron to six feet for eagle on the way to holding off the West Waterford left-hander Mark Shanahan by 2 and 1.

However, the honour of hitting the shot of the day went to Shanahan, whose tee shot to the 13th almost rolled into the hole for an ace and came to rest about 20 inches behind the stick. It made little difference to the outcome as Bowden emerged an impressive winner - and one who vowed to use a caddy today having pulled his bag up to now.

His clash with Johnny Foster will see mighty ball striking and a lot of birdies. Foster regards this year as his last as a full-time amateur before settling down to working for a living. Before that, however, he hopes the belly putter he has been wielding for the past 13 months and a more accurate long game will see him to a second "South" title. He looked the part in a 5 and 4 defeat of Pat Murray.

"All that remains from 1998 is my three wood and my caddy, Patrick Glynn," he quipped.

"I lost to Pat in the Close a few weeks ago so it was nice to even the score. I got off to a fast start, and after that it was a case of hitting fairways and greens. The plan worked nicely."