A mouthwatering series of ties await in the round of 16 at the Connolly Motor Group West of Ireland Championship at County Sligo Golf Club, but Rory McIlroy’s record as the last man to successfully defend the title is safe for at least another year as Dylan Holmes was the standout casualty.
While Storm Dave’s worst may have passed, the early morning sunshine masked the bitter cold and stiff breeze, but it wasn’t long until action heated up on the golf course.
Jonathan Keane, who’s scintillating 66 in round one earned him the Pat Ruddy Trophy as leading qualifier, was well aware that the number one seed would offer little protection, and he went to the 20th hole before finally seeing off Sean Flanagan in the opening match, then needed another trip up the 19th before dispatching David Reddan in the round of 32.
In the latter, the reigning South of Ireland champion had to come from 2-down with three to play, but he showed the fighting spirit and impressive talent that saw him become the first Lahinch man to win the nation’s oldest provincial championship in over 50 years.
“39 holes of golf is a lot, especially in that wind,” a relieved Keane said afterwards. “I’m delighted with myself. I know I was the number one seed, but at the end of the day, we start on the first tee all square. It doesn’t matter who you play at this stage, they’re all great golfers, so you just have to go out and beat the man at the end of the day.”
Keane will square off against local favourite Sean McLoughlin in the last 16, after the Maynooth student took down former collegiate teammate Ryan Griffin and then former Irish Close champion Quentin Carew with a late birdie barrage.
Carton House’s Alex Kerins plays Westport’s Conor Stapleton in match number two, while Roganstown’s Mark Cadden’s impressive win over Robbie Cannon earned him a round of 16 matchup with another Rosses Point man in Barry Anderson.
The 2017 champion may represent Cork Golf Club, but few players have more West of Ireland experience and after finishing runner-up in 2023 and being a beaten semi-finalist last year, this tie matches one of the nation’s top up-and-coming players and a wily veteran.
Caolan Rafferty, hoping to add a matchplay West of Ireland win to the strokeplay one he claimed in 2019, squares off against Portmarnock’s Eoin Sullivan. Rafferty endured a lengthy wait as unfortunate circumstances delayed the match between James Hewitt and James Walsh in the round of 64, meaning Rafferty and Hewitt, after the Armagh man prevailed over the Corkonian, was the last match to go on course.
“It was a long day, a long wait in between rounds and plenty of frustration was shown, but we got there in the end,” Rafferty said. “I got off to a slow start, but I hung in there and got back to basics.”
Another local in Aodhagan Brady will do battle with Warrenpoint’s Rian Carvill after the latter took down home favourite TJ Ford in the round of 32. Brady took the number two seed into matchplay and faced a tough opponent in East of Ireland champion David Howard as his reward, but a 3&2 win there was followed by another 3&2 win over Sean Downes of Royal Dublin and he is many people’s fancy to become the first County Sligo golfer actually representing the club to lift the trophy since Cecil Ewing in 1950.
12 months ago, Robert Abernethy finished as leading strokeplay qualifier but fell at the first matchplay hurdle, but he’s keen to make amends this year and he ended Holme’s hopes of a successful defence in style. The Dun Laoghaire man was four-under for his round, and he plays Cian Harkin, fresh off a strong R&A Student Series showing at St Andrews earlier in the week.
Former North of Ireland champion James Fox will play 2024 West winner Keith Egan in the penultimate tie, with last year’s runner-up, Colm Campbell, facing 2023 Bridgestone Order of Merit winner David Shiel in the final round of 16 tie.
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