Ireland’s title hopes dashed by Wales

IRELAND’S hopes of winning their first Amateur Home International title for 11 years were scuppered in the sunshine at Royal St David’s Harlech yesterday when Wales overcame them 8.1/2 to 6.1/2 in a contest even closer than the scoreline suggests.

They will today face England surprisingly beaten yesterday by Scotland in a bid to avoid the wooden spoon. The foursomes were shared on the second day and there was all to play for in the afternoon singles, although Wales felt they should have gone in at lunch with a slender advantage.

Their champion David Price missed a putt of four feet on the home green to allow Noel Fox and Andrew McCormick to secure a half-point with him and Lee Harpin.

After lunch Ireland were under pressure, but for periods it looked as though the honours might be even. The experienced Ken Kearney found Walker Cup man Nigel Edwards too hot to handle and went down by 5&4.

Edwards has been awesome during this championship and had 11 pars and three birdies in his clear-cut success.

Athlone's Colm Moriarty, the South of Ireland champion who has enjoyed a magnificent season, was neck and neck for most of the way against Harpin and the match ended in a half.

Then the Irish got their first singles win on the board when Justin Kehoe edged home against Alex Smith.

For much of the time Kehoe was two up, but he lost the 17th to a birdie three to be taken down the short final hole. There he rammed in a 40-footer for a birdie two and victory, having gone around in level par 69.

Portmarnock's Noel Fox was never in front against Welsh champion Price and went down 3&2. And then came one of the most crucial matches in the entire tie that between Ballyclare's Gareth Maybin and Welsh order of merit champion Stuart Manley.

Maybin opened up a three-hole lead by the seventh and seemed to be going great guns but Manley picked up three consecutive birdies to level matters.

Then after seven successive halves, they came to the last all square. There Maybin pushed his tee shot well wide of the green and could not possibly pitch close enough to prevent Manley, who was on with his tee shot, from winning the hole and match with a par three.

Darren Crowe went down 3&2 to Gareth Wright and then came another important moment as Padraig Dooley narrowly failed to get anything from his match with James Williams.

It was a topsy turvy game with Williams drawing first blood at the second but being pegged back immediately and then falling behind.

Dooley held the lead only briefly and lost the eighth to go one down and stayed in that position until the 15th when he squared the game.

A brilliant birdie three by Williams at the 354 yard 16th restored the Welshman's lead and he held on bravely over the tense last three holes for a final green success.

There were victories for Sean McTernan and McCormick and a half for Stuart Paul but those achievements towards the bottom of the order were too little too late.

Irish Captain Eddie Dunne, who finishes at the helm after next month's Eisenhower Trophy, could not hide his disappointment. "We came here with a strong team but realise the other countries are strong as well, and fair play to Wales, they produced some excellent golf and deserved to win."

Wales will today bid to take the title for the first time in the event's 70 year history when they take on Scotland, who won the Raymond Trophy the last time it was contested in Harlech in 1986.

Amazingly, Scotland defeated England 10-5 which means the English are in the unusual position of having to beat Ireland to avoid the wooden spoon and prevent a whitewash by the other three countries for the first time in history.