Irish Amateur Open Championship: Two rounds, one day and for Lloyd Saltman the gamut of emotions culminated in delight as he claimed the AIB-sponsored, Irish Amateur Open Strokeplay Championship. The tournament was effectively pared down to a duel, Saltman and Banbridge's Richard Kirkpatrick the protagonists.
The Royal Dublin links was lashed by a strong northeasterly that scattered reputations and aspirations, including those of several Walker Cup panellists. One luminary, Rory McIlroy, would finish in a tie for fourth.
It was Kirkpatrick, the 25-year-old from Banbridge, who picked up the gauntlet thrown down by Saltman in the morning, the 21-year-old Scot having shot a stunning course-record 66.
If Saltman took route 66 in the morning, his journey to the title in the afternoon's 18 holes took in several detours and was a great deal more fraught. He signed for a four-over-par 76.
The capricious elements guaranteed a bumpy ride over the links. Saltman's course record included an eagle, six birdies and two bogeys; the blemishes came when he drove into a bush on the seventh and failed to get up and down on the 18th after going over the back of the green in two.
These were minor aberrations given the high quality of his general ball striking and ruthless exploitation of chances.
There was also much to admire in Kirkpatrick's level-par 72, which allowed him start the final 18 holes just two shots adrift.
Saltman's six bogeys en route to the turn invited others back into the contest but with the exception of Kirkpatrick they likewise toiled. The final three holes effectively decided who would become champion.
Saltman, five groups ahead of his rival, saw his tee shot at the 16th, a short par-four, finish pin high but 20 yards left of the green, leaving him with a tricky downhill lie in the rough. Two wedges later and he had a tricky six-footer for par, which slid past the hole. As he would remark later, "That was like dropping two shots to the field."
His response though showed great mettle. He holed a 20-foot birdie putt from the fringe at the next.
The Edinburgh man then enjoyed a touch of good fortune after turning over his tee shot at the last. It caught a good lie in the rough and he maximised his luck by holing a clutch five-foot putt for par and a three-over final total.
When Kirkpatrick arrived on the 16th, he stood at five over, but that changed dramatically when he found the green with a rescue club and holed from 20 feet for eagle. Suddenly the pair were tied at the top of the leaderboard, a state of affairs that would last just nine minutes.
Kirkpatrick explained: "I was just trying to hit a three wood over that bunker (on 17) and didn't quite catch it right. I was going in with a nine iron and thought I hit it well but it just checked. The first putt bobbled; it was sitting in a hole. It was close to having enough pace but needed just a bit more."
He took bogey, missing from 10 feet for par with his second putt.
Still smarting, he pushed the rescue club into the drain on the right of the 18th fairway, an error that would eventually lead to a second successive bogey.
Kirkpatrick, though disappointed, will reflect with a certain pride on his efforts this week and intends to see out the remainder of the amateur season before heading to the European Tour qualifying school.
He'll probably bump into Saltman there as the Scot intends to turn professional on his 22nd birthday, the day after the Walker Cup. His pedigree is illustrated not just by this his fourth successive strokeplay win (the Scottish Champion of Champions, the Craigmillar Open and the Lytham Trophy) but also by his tie for 15th in the 2005 British Open at St Andrew's, when he was just 19.
He smiled: "I can't have a better start to the year. It (the Irish Amateur) has got a great field on a great track and it's such a well organised tournament."
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