Crowe and Murray hoping for better fortunes at Lahinch

ULSTER redhead Darren Crowe and Limerick’s Pat Murray will be hoping for better luck over the coming days in the South of Ireland Golf Championship at Lahinch.

Crowe has been the beaten finalist in each of the last two Souths, while Murray has bowed out in the semi-finals of the last couple of championships.

Crowe lost in the 2005 decider to fellow Ulsterman Jim Carvill, who is not among the entries on this occasion, and to Simon Ward of Co Louth, who is back to defend his title.

Murray went down to Crowe at the penultimate stage in ‘05 and to Ward 12 months ago.

Disappointingly, Open Championship silver medallist Rory McIlroy has passed up the ‘South’ again as have two other Walker Cup team candidates, Richard Kilpatrick and Jonathan Caldwell.

All three are from the north but that’s where the strength of amateur golf in the country resides at present with Darren Crowe and his brother Stephen just two of a number from that neck of the woods with an eye on the coveted old title.

In spite of these notable absentees, the championship has attracted its customary strong field with each of the 192 starters boasting handicaps of 1.9 or better.

Interestingly, today’s first round draw includes Limerick’s Michael O’Kelly, a former finalist and semi-finalist last year and a Lahinch expert if ever there was one.

Also hoping to advance to the second round tomorrow and so joining the exempted elite are three times former winner Paraic O’Rourke and Eddie Power, a man with three Close titles to his credit.

The seeding committee appears to be expecting a final on next Wednesday afternoon between Darren Crowe and Gareth Shaw of Lurgan, winner of the North of Ireland Championship in two of the last three years.

The biggest threat to Crowe in the first quarter is clearly Shane Lowry from Esker Hills, winner of the Irish Close at Cork last month and who lost to Shaw in the final of the recent North of Ireland Championship at Royal Portrush having previously finished third in the East of Ireland.

Pat Murray is in the second quarter along with the well fancied Niall

Kearney of Royal Dublin and the Douglas pair Peter O’Keeffe and Aaron O’Callaghan. Holder Simon Ward and West of Ireland champion Joe Lyons along with Irish Youths champion Seamus Power of West Waterford are among the more prominent names in the third quarter while Cian McNamara, the youngest ever ‘South’ champion at the age of 18 in 2004, and Robert McCarthy of the Island could represent the biggest threat to Shaw at the bottom of the draw.