Where's the pluck of the Irish?
In the end, it was a club professional, Leslie Walker of Dundalk, who led the way on four under par, 12 strokes behind victor Warren and Whitefield at the Lackabane course. Next best were Aaron O'Callaghan, the 19-year-old amateur from Douglas, Cork, and Colm Moriarty from Athlone, both on two under. Mark Murphy of Waterville closed with a 71 for even par 288 while Cork's Padraig Dooley shot 72 for a five over 291.
Most had distinguished themselves as amateurs, representing their provinces and country and with expectations so high that they believed they would be rubbing shoulders with the Harringtons, Clarkes and McGinleys of this world. Sadly, their confidence has ebbed to a point where it has become seriously undermined once they tee it up competitively.
Colm Moriarty believes he is an exception and certainly spoke in very positive terms having closed out at Killarney with a 73 for a two under par 286. He insisted: "I'm not too delighted with that but I'm not getting downhearted just because the tournament was in Ireland. It's just another week. I've been dropping too many easy shots and they all add up over a season. I must work on my focus, that's what's stopping me from progressing but I know it's only a very small thing that will make the difference, I'm swinging the club better this year and happy that there are better things to come."
Leslie Walker is best remembered for his victory in the 1986 British Boys Championship at Seaton Carew (the only other Irishmen to do so are Jimmy Bruen and Ronan Rafferty) but generally speaking, has failed to deliver on that promise. He has always been a delightfully natural swinger but early on in his professional career decided that a club job would serve him best while he contemplated what he really wanted out of his career.
He is now 36 years of age and the pro at Dundalk Golf Club, a job he combines with regular appearances on the Irish pro-am circuit. He's perfectly happy in that role, he maintains, while still also hankering after a shot at the European Tour. He has attempted to qualify on a number of occasions but never reached the final Tour School.
He'll try again this year, explaining: "I want to play at the highest level but I've been playing too many pro-ams. I'm shattered after 72 holes here this week, it's been like four pro-ams. If my frame of mind is right, I'll get my card because the golf itself has never been a problem." He won €1,144.
Aaron O'Callaghan departed Killarney in a very positive frame of mind having closed the tournament with a 71 for one under par overall. From here he moves on to make his senior interpro debut for Munster at Rosses Point before assisting Douglas CS in a couple of schools' finals at Kilkeel, Co Down. After that, he hops on a flight to the US to begin his studies for a sports management degree at South-East Louisiana University.
So life could hardly be better for the 19-year-old player.
"I had a very enjoyable time here and it's nice to know that you're not out of place," he enthused. "Unfortunately, my putter didn't work even though I had five birdies on three days and four on the other. So a total of 19 birdies is very nice but I played a lot of sloppy golf as well and ran up too many bogeys. It was a great experience and I played for three days with a very nice guy in Liam Bond who gave me a good idea of what to expect."
David Higgins and Michael Hoey, both of whom missed the cut, remain 2nd and 10th place on the Challenge Tour order of merit with €69,597 and €45,015 respectively.
The business end of the tournament saw Marc Warren, a member of the successful 2001 Walker Cup team, stage a magnificent late rally to draw level with Peter Whiteford, his fellow Scot, and eventually beat him at the third extra hole. Warren birdied the 15th, 16th and 17th, where there was a two-shot swing in his favour.
They were into "sudden death" when both made fighting birdies at the difficult 18th. Whiteford got down in two putts from more than 30 yards, holing a 15-footer for his second, while Warren pitched and putted from the back left of the green and holed from six feet.
Warren missed a good chance at the 18th first time round when he took three from the back edge, a distance of no more than 18 feet. They then halved it in bogeys before at the third attempt Warren made no mistake with a cast iron par. He picked up a cheque for €20,800; Whitefield's consolation came in the shape of €14,300, while third placed Denny Lucas of England received €9,100.
