Amateurs find it hard to move up

Colm Moriarty was one of four Irish amateurs who hoped for a future on the professional circuit, and journeyed to the European Tour's pre-qualifying school, stage one, to attempt to win a card.

The Irish international wasn't able to sustain those aspirations - he finished in a tie for 50th at Carden Park golf club - nor were Gary Cullen (Beaverstown, 47th Chart Hills), Tim Rice (Limerick, 49th Chart Hills) and Stephen Browne (Hermitage 60th, The Wynard). They all failed to make the grade.

Despite the setback, Moriarty maintains that experiencing the demands imposed at PQ1 will stand to him in the future. "It was a good experience, I'll know better the next time. Obviously I'm very disappointed. I didn't play well in the first couple of rounds and that left me with a mountain to climb.

"It was extremely frustrating. I started off 76, 75 and knew that I was struggling; although in the last couple of rounds I was a few under early on and had chances but couldn't keep anything going.

"The first couple of rounds killed me. It's hard to come back and shoot two 67s. You're forcing a bit and when that happens you don't often succeed.

"I was possibly mentally tired from the Home Internationals - I played well there - and it was the wrong time to feel that way. Looking back I am confident that if I had been able to play my normal game, even at 80 per cent capacity, I could have qualified easily.

"I putted poorly for the duration of the tournament. And probably played a bit too defensively."

He was critical of the putting surfaces at Carden Park, a fact that may have contributed to his poor putting.

"The greens were very poor, slow and bumpy. It's not an excuse, but it was frustrating, especially after coming off what were excellent greens for the Home Internationals at Woodhall Spa."

All four of the aforementioned players are considering whether to persevere with their professional ambitions: Browne appears willing to try the paid ranks for a year.

Moriarty will not make a decision for a couple of weeks. "At the moment I'm unsure. I have a couple of options that I am looking into at the moment. I haven't made up my mind. I have an option to go to Australia. America would have been another, but at the moment that's looking a bit dodgy."

The Athlone golfer has not turned his back on amateur golf and is considering retaining that status. "Next year is a big year in the amateur scene with the Eisenhower (Trophy) so that is a consideration. For the time being I am just going to take a complete break and consider my options. I'll probably know in about a fortnight what I am going to do."