Stuart Grehan leads Irish Close contenders

Memories of the 1987 final at Tramore will be revived this week when the AIG Irish Close Championship takes place over the outstanding seaside layout for the third time.

On that occasion, Tramore’s own Eddie Power thrilled the locals when he captured the first of his three national titles, beating JP Fitzgerald - nowadays Rory McIlroy’s highly successful caddie - in the final by two holes.

Fitzgerald (who again lost in the final to Gary Murphy in 1992) was a formidable amateur player and has made much capital over the years of his 20th hole defeat of Darren Clarke in the 1987 semi-final.