Murray ready for Close test

Old campaigners Pat Murray and Gary O’Flaherty can make their experience count in the first round of the AIG- sponsored Irish Amateur Close at Seapoint today.

While Tullamore’s Stuart Grehan topped the qualifiers on one over par 145 on a countback from Knock’s Colin Fairweather, Limerick star Murray and Cork stalwart O’Flaherty cruised through amongst the 64 qualifiers at a course where staying out the deep rough is imperative.

“It’s tough, but it’s a seriously good golf course,” said 42-year old former Close champion Murray, who added a 75 to his opening 72 to qualify with ease on 147.

O’Flaherty, who contended for the East of Ireland title last week, added a 75 to his opening 71 to share third place on two over with Co Louth’s Brian Ronan, Sligo man Gary McDermott, Balmoral’s Matthew McClean and East winner Colm Campbell from Warrenpoint.

“I’ve been beaten in the quarters twice,” said 39-year- old O’Flaherty. “The main thing was to get through the qualifying and I’m playing nicely. Baltray was good and Colm deserved to win but this is a new week.”

Seapoint certainly showed its teeth on the second day as just two players in the 140-strong field — Forrest Little’s Eoin Arthurs and Cork’s John Hickey — managed rounds of level par 72 on a day when the average score was 79.8.

No-one could dip into the round for 36 holes with 21-year-old Grehan adding a 74 to his opening 71 to lead the qualifiers on one over par 145 from Fairweather, who shot 75 yesterday,

Tullamore might be close to 100 miles from Seapoint but Grehan had a secret weapon in that his girlfriend is a member of the club and he spent the run up to championship practising at the par-72 track designed by Des Smyth and Declan Branigan more than 21 years ago.

- Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg gatecrashed the party planned for local favourite Bernd Wiesberger with a brilliant birdie to win the Lyoness Open in a play-off yesterday.

Lundberg and Wiesberger finished tied on 12 under par at Diamond Country Club after Lundberg surged through the field with a closing 65 and Wiesberger returned a 69, crucially letting slip a one-shot lead with three holes to play.

The pair returned to the par-three 18th for the first extra hole and it was advantage Wiesberger after their respective tee shots, only for Lundberg to hole from 45 feet for an unlikely birdie. Wiesberger was unable to match it from 18 feet.

- Gary Hurley produced a steady overall performance to become the top Irishman at the prestigious St Andrews Links Trophy.

The West Waterford player opened over the New Course with an impressive two under par 69 and followed that up with 73, 70 and 72 on the Old Course for a 72-hole aggregate of 284-three under par.

That put him joint 15th, only six strokes off the pace.

Scotsman Grant Forrest won the crown in a sudden-death play-off with countryman Bradley Neil after both finished the 72 holes on 278.

- Frank Flynn was the top Irishman in the European Amateur Mid-Amateur Championship in Bulgaria.

The Laytown and Bettystown golfer finished tied 55th with a 54-hole total of 233 after rounds of 74, 81, 78 — but that was a yawning 23 strokes adrift of the joint winners Lausanne-based Richard Heath and the German pair of Felix Banzhaf and Alexander Koller.