Whiteford leads as Irish challenge falters

THE numerically strong Irish contingent collapsed in disappointing fashion during yesterday’s second day of the Ireland Ryder Cup Challenge tournament over the Lackabane course at Killarney, leaving 25-year-old Scot Peter Whiteford clear at the top of the leaderboard with a highly impressive total of 12 under par 132.

Conditions weren’t quite as favourable as on Thursday but low scores abounded once again. Whiteford, 25 next month, added a 67 to his opening 65 to open up a two stroke advantage over his 24-year-old compatriot Marc Warren, a member of the successful 2001 British and Irish Walker Cup side. The Finn Roope Kakko, who had burned up the course with a record shattering 63 on Thursday, found Lackabane a far more testing proposition on this occasion and settled for an even par round of 72 although still remaining very much in contention on nine under, just three off the pace.

David Higgins went into the week in second place in the order of merit and the big Irish hope. Disappointingly, though, he was at odds with his game, especially yesterday when a two over par 74 saw him miss the cut which came at one under.

“I played poorly and putted poorly, I just had one of those days where I didn't hole anything,” he said. But he did throw himself a lifeline with a 12-footer (his only single putt of the day) for a birdie at the long 17th only to leave an all-important birdie putt from seven feet well short on the final green!

Dubliner Peter Williamson had shared the best Irishman tag with Colm Moriarty after Thursday, but yesterday he ran up a quintuplet bogey nine at the 12th, a double bogey at the 15th and five single bogeys before being disqualified for failing to finish the round. Moriarty fared a lot better than that but was still upset at not doing better than 75 for one under which effectively leaves him chasing the small money. Meanwhile, Aaron O’Callaghan, the 19-year-old amateur from Douglas, did himself proud with a 71 for three-under and a safe passage into the weekend. Not alone that, but he is best of the five Irish survivors by two clear shots! Aaron joins his friend and clubmate Peter O’Keeffe at South East Louisiana University next month to study sports management but firstly will assist Douglas Community School in the Irish Schools stroke and matchplay finals at Kilkeel, Co Down next month.

In the longer term, his aim is to play Walker Cup before moving on to a career as a tournament professional. His brother, Wayne, is already a club pro.

Whiteford is clearly intent on not exerting too much pressure on himself. The top 20 in the Challenge Tour order of merit make it on to the main tour in 2006 but he insisted:“I would be happy to finish in the top 45 because that would guarantee me a full Challenge Tour card for next season. At the moment, I am in category ten which doesn’t get me into the bigger events that are really like majors for us. But making the top 20 is everybody’s goal out here.”

His words are a reminder of just how difficult clearly talented young golfers are finding it to make the grade in the pro game. Onlookers here over the past few days have been hugely impressed by the quality of the ball striking by the vast majority of the 156 strong field. With generously wide fairways, little rough and holding greens, it is only inevitable that they would score pretty well but Lackabane still measures 7,010 yards and for the cut to come at one under par is a reliable guide as to just how well these fellows can play.

The third hole playing to 271 yards has been a virtual certain birdie for most of the field, some of whom were reaching the green with a four wood or even a "rescue" club. It proved a bonanza for Marc Warren (47th in the money list with €18,406) as he explained: “I just teed the driver low and hit a nice, smooth drive down the right hand side that ran round nicely and stopped about four feet from the hole. It nearly went in actually.”

The eagle two played a big part in Warren’s second round of 67.

Warren believes he has been making progress since turning professional - and accepts he needed to do so!

“You look at Luke Donald, Nick Dougherty, Steven O'Hara and Graeme McDowell of our Walker Cup year and see what they have achieved already”, he muses. “But it’s just a case of maturing at different ages. I’m a couple of years younger than most of those guys so I just have to stay patient and I think I will be ready to join them on Tour soon.”