The tough closing stretch at Royal Lytham & St Annes did take a bite out of Irish hopes but Stuart Grehan and Dylan Keating are both well placed after day one of the 60th Lytham Trophy
Grehan is four shots off the pace on one-over after an opening 71 while Keating is a shot further back after he survived his first Lytham test with a 72.
Irish Amateur and Close champion Grehan was one-over-par after a birdie on the 5th was sandwiched between bogeys on the 2nd and 10th but he roared to within one of the lead with two birdies in three holes on 11 and 13.
Unfortunately a double bogey six on the par-4 17th will make his dinner taste a little stale but he is in good shape in a share of 11th place.
Keating was going great guns at level-par through eleven holes after he mixed birdies on the 3rd and 11th with b bogeys son the 7th and 8th but he fell five shots off the pace with dropped shots on 15 and 18. It was still a very encouraging opening innings for the Seapoint star who will carry home hopes at next week’s Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship.
Former West of Ireland winner Dylan Holmes of Greystones and Edmondstown’s Liam Abom are inside the top-30 on three-over after carding rounds of 73. As is debutant John Doyle. The teenager was out in the second to last group and managed to birdied two of his five holes to get back to three-over and inside the cut.
Keith Egan, Aodhagan Brady and West of Ireland champion Mark Cadden are on four-over after 74s. Cadden deserves praise for coming back from a horror start where he was six-over through six holes and seven-over after eight as he teed off in the opening group.
The Oldcastle native birdied the par-3 9th – where Tom Watson ended his career – and eagled the par-5 11th to get back into things although plus four remains just outside the cut mark which will fall at the top-40 and ties.
Colm Campbell and Patrick Curran have work to do to make the cut at six-over while a horror finish saw David Howard finish at plus seven alongside Conor Hickey.
Scoring HERE
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