Ward and Gorey pass two big tests in bid for Lahinch glory

Simon Ward (Co Louth) and Muskerry’s Niall Gorey, a member of the Munster team that won last week’s Interprovincial Championship at Royal Co Down, yesterday came through two testing encounters in the South of Ireland at Lahinch to set up a mouth-watering 5th round clash this morning.

Ward emerged as one of the brightest prospects in the amateur game as a 19 year-old in 2006 when he defeated Ulsterman Darren Crowe to capture the “South” title. A year later, he was a member of the same Irish side as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry that won the European Team Championship but even then he never seriously considered following them into the paid ranks.

“I always intended putting my education first and so went to college at UU Belfast and followed with a Masters in Business Administration at Central Florida University”, explained the blond haired Co Louth golfer.