Early bird Owens gets defence off to good start

HOLDER Mervyn Owens (Mallow) was first off the tee at Lahinch yesterday morning when he successfully began the defence of his title against Eddie Power (Kilkenny) in a 7am start to the South of Ireland Irish Shell-sponsored championship.

The Mallow man ended the match when he went three up after his opponent was bunkered at the short 16th.

The surprise in the early afternoon was when Pat Dempsey (Headford) beat Walker Cup player Noel Fox (Portmarnock) by 2/1.

The other surprise was the defeat of Darren Crowe (Dunmurry) by James Barton (Ballinasloe) a member of this year’s Irish Youths International team. They were all-square after nine, but the youth won the 12th and 16th for the match.

The number one seed, Irish Close champion Brian McElhinney (Northwest), had also a lucky escape against the 27-year-old Cork-based Limerick doctor Pat Collier (Lahinch).

He was one up playing the last hole when the Ulster man was in deep rough off the drive. Collier, who won the 1997 title, was well down the middle of the fairway. Instead he pushed his fairway wood into the heavy rough and had little chance of ever reaching the green in two. Instead he hacked out for three into a greenside bunker and lost the hole to a five par.

There was another near surprise when Mark Campbell (Stackstown), the winner of the East of Ireland title and the 1999 winner at Lahinch, was taken to the last green by 17-year-old Pat Sheehy (Newcastle West).