Dunne holds her nerve

Golf/Irish Women's Close: Florida-based student Maria Dunne held her nerve at Donegal Golf Club yesterday evening to edge into this morning's semi-finals of the Lancome Irish Women's Close Championship.

In a tight struggle the Skerries three-handicapper ousted Karen Delaney on the home green after holes had been swapped throughout the close encounter.

It was the lucky 13th hole that set the winner on her way. She had been two up after pars at the eighth and ninth holes, but promptly lost the next two by finding heavy rough both times. But at the 13th she chipped in from 30 feet for birdie two to go one up again.

"That was important, even though I lost the next hole when I was again in the garbage with both my drive and my second shot," reflected Dunne. "It was a tricky shot out of the bunker and to hole out was just superb."

A huge drive up the 18th fairway just 45 yards short of the green by Dunne gave her the advantage heading for home. Delaney was up in the rough on the right and her approach went over the green from where she chipped past the flag. Dunne left her lobwedge eight feet behind the hole and putted stone dead while Delaney's effort for a half in par narrowly missed.

"Alison Coffey beat me in the quarter-finals last year and this is the furthest I have got in the Irish Championship," recalled Dunne, who has completed one year at Bethune-Cookman College at Daytona Beach. She has won two tournaments at college and has had five runners-up spots.

In the morning's third round Dunne had defeated Bronagh Lunney of Belvoir Park by 3 and 2 while Delaney had a similar result over Heather Nolan.

Dunne is now paired with Claire Coughlan in the semi-finals and that promises to be quite a battle. The 1999 winner, Coughlan twice went to the 18th before getting through - first dismissing Sinead Keane and then Maura Morrin.

The other semi-final will feature Ulster champion Helen Jones and Martina Gillen, who is on a scholarship at Kent State College in Ohio. She was second in the St Rule Trophy recently.

Gillen had a 5 and 4 win over Tara Delaney and a 6 and 5 result against three-time champion Eileen Rose Power, while Jones had to go to the 20th before booking her spot in the last four. She beat Trish Mangan, who had gone to the 19th in the morning before overcoming Sinead Benedetti.

Strabane three-handicapper Jones was four up on Mangan after 12 holes but then ran into a birdie blitz from the Ennis girl. From the 13th hole she went birdie-par-birdie-birdie to level the argument and the last two holes were halved.

So was the first extra, hole but Jones got through with a par at the 20th. She rifled a seven-wood to 15 feet and got down in two putts for par while Vagliano Team member Mangan found sand with her second approach and failed to get up and down.