McTernan fights all the way in tough Lahinch test

THE FORM BOOK came up trumps at Lahinch yesterday when Colm Moriarty, the lowest handicapper in the field at the beginning of the Championship, captured the 101st South of Ireland at the 19th when he defeated Sean McTernan of Co Sligo in the first all Connacht final.

The 23-year-old from Athlone plays off an exact handicap of plus 3.6 and certainly looked the part throughout the four days of an event that proved a huge success over the remodelled Lahinch links. Moriarty has no doubt his liking for the course had much to do with his victory as he happily recalled he also won the Munster Youths here in 1998 when defeating Killarney's Danny Sugrue in a play-off.