Jack Whelan leads the way in South of Ireland Championship

A day that began with heavy showers followed by bright sunshine and later still by strong winds tested the golfing acumen of most of the country’s leading golfers in the first of two qualifying rounds in the Pierse Motors-sponsored South of Ireland Championship at Lahinch.

Play began as early as 7am and much to the chagrin of the championship committee, the first group took four hours and 32 minutes to complete 18 holes and that in turn helped to throw the schedule out of kilter. Interestingly, Dundalk’s Aaron Grant was a member of the trio and he proved to be one of the eight players to finish under the par of 72.

There were several other good rounds up to lunchtime when the wind got up and the talented field quickly appreciated that low scores don’t come easily at Lahinch, especially when it is played to virtually its full length of just under 7,000 yards.