Lahinch record on the line at the South

A CHANGE in the qualifying process means a new course record could be set at Lahinch over the next couple of days.

For many years, the South of Ireland Championship was contested entirely by match-play but the host club decided to revert to 36 holes of qualifying for this year’s showpiece, with the leading 64 going through to the head-to-head stages from Monday morning until the 18-hole final on Wednesday afternoon.

The current record for the Old Course is five under par 67 set by Mark Ryan from the Grange club in Dublin. It was set during the club championship, the only event played from the very back tees, and now offers a tantalising target for players contesting our oldest provincial championship.