Harding and Jeppessen equal course record at Rosses Point

ROSSES Point, Easter and the West of Ireland Championship invariably mean only one thing — wind, rain and cold.

However, that could hardly have been further from the case yesterday when the great Sligo links was bathed in glorious sunshine with temperatures as high as 22 celsius for the first day of a championship dating back to 1923. However, there was a sea breeze to keep things interesting and at the end of a long day, it was inevitable that there were numerous demands for sun cream protections.

It was a day for the best players to make hay even if the cream of the crop, Colm Moriarty and Justin Kehoe, for reasons best-known to themselves, opted to travel instead to Wales to compete in the Duncan Putter. Both are in pursuit of places on this year’s British & Irish Walker Cup team but the Duncan Putter is not one of the events designated by captain Garth McGimpsey and the selectors. Furthermore, it is pointed out by GUI officials that Moriarty and Kehoe were funded on their recent trip to Australia by the Union. They did exceptionally well, especially Moriarty who captured two prestigious titles Down Under, to improve their prospects of facing the Americans at Ganton in September. Moriarty, from Athlone, is a product of the Connacht coaching system.