Clemons to face Skov Olesen at Ballyliffin
Dominic Clemons of England chips during the semi finals on day five of The Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin Golf Club in Donegal. Picture: Oisin Keniry/R&A
England's Dominic Clemons secured a narrow victory over compatriot Jack Bigham to reach the final of the 129th Amateur Championship.
Clemons, who needed 20 holes to defeat Germany's Laurenz Schiergen in the morning's quarter-finals, edged out Walker Cup player Bigham on the 18th in a hard-fought semi-final at Ballyliffin.
"It feels good," Clemons said. "It was a bit of a struggle out there, maybe because of the weather, especially compared to the last few days when it was playing quite easy.
"I hit a few poor shots this afternoon but kind of got lucky in some spots and on to tomorrow.
"It's weird because I've obviously known Jack for a long time but haven't played with him for a while. It was good to see him play and I know he's done some good things (this season), but fortunately it was my day today."
Clemons, who won the Scottish Open Amateur Stroke Play Championship at Muirfield by an extraordinary 17 shots earlier this month, will face Denmark's Jacob Skov Olesen in the final.
Olesen, who beat Scotland's Calum Scott by one hole in the quarter-finals, hit the pin with his approach to the 17th as he sealed a 3&1 victory over American Luke Sample in the last four.
The winner of Saturday's 36-hole final will secure a place in next month's Open Championship at Royal Troon, the 2025 US Open and, by tradition, an invitation to the play in the Masters.
Meanwhile, James Morrison hopes "pigs might fly" over the weekend and turn a promising position into his first victory since 2015.
Morrison carded a second round of 68 in the KLM Open at The International to lie two shots behind halfway leader Mikko Korhonen, who also added an eventful 68 to his opening 64 to reach 10 under par.
Korhonen enjoyed a one-shot lead over American Sean Crocker, with Morrison sharing third place on eight under par with compatriot Ross Fisher, who won the last of his five DP World Tour titles more than a decade ago.
Morrison is one of the straightest drivers on the European circuit and the 39-year-old was delighted to return to a venue which requires accuracy off the tee and where he finished fourth behind Sergio Garcia in 2019.
"You come in here, you know you can play well on this golf course and to do it is really satisfying," Morrison said after a round containing seven birdies and four bogeys.
"All I can do is hit it straight," Morrison added with a laugh. "When I see a course where you get a benefit for hitting it straight I always feel that suits my game.
"Most courses the last few years suit the bombers and as much as I would like to say I'm a bomber, I'm not. So it's nice to get to a course like this where driving is key for the week.
"I finished fourth here in 2019 so it's a course that's got good memories for me. I've been playing great, I think I've missed three cuts in the last year or so.
"So I'm playing really well, that big week has never been that far away so hopefully, maybe, you never know, pigs might fly... it could be this weekend. Who knows?"
Korhonen's rollercoaster round contained an eagle, two bogeys, a triple bogey and six birdies in what is just his third event on the DP World Tour since being sidelined following a panic attack during last year's Italian Open.
"I had a little adventure in the long stuff (on the 12th) and then holed a nine iron (on 14) so lots of things happened," the 43-year-old Finn said.
"I didn't really expect anything in just my third event coming out of a year's medical exemption, but I'm happy to be here and I'm happy to play well."
Overnight joint-leader Matteo Manassero could only add a 71 to his opening 64 to lie three shots off the lead on seven under, with Scotland's Ewen Ferguson also on the same score following a 66.
Welshman Jamie Donaldson, a Ryder Cup winner in 2014, missed the cut on his 500th DP World Tour start on three over par, the same total as defending champion Pablo Larrazabal.
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