Final birdie gives Elliot Youths title

Ricky Elliot from Royal Portrush birdied the last hole to snatch a one-shot win over Limerick's Tim Rice in the Leinster Youths Golf Championship at the Christy O'Connor Golf Club, Hollystown, yesterday.

The pair, who coincidently are both students at the University of Toledo, Ohio, came to the par five 72nd hole on level terms, but Elliot's three-wood and five-iron found the green while Rice came up short in two. Rice chipped to 12 feet, but his attempt to force a play-off lipped out to give Elliot victory.

Rice took a three-shot lead into the final two rounds, but was passed by Elliot who shot a two-under-par 70 in the third round to lead by two going out in the afternoon.

But Rice, who fell three behind after nine holes of the final round, staged a great fightback and was all square with five to play. Both birdied the 15th, and after pars at 16 and 17 came to the last all square.

Alan Murray of Greystones finished in third place, seven shots off the pace, while Alan Thomas of Tramore was a shot further back in fourth.

Best score of the championship was a magnificent 68, on the excellently presented Hollystown course, by Grange three handicapper Hugh Hanley in the final round. Hanley raced to the turn in two-under-par 34 with birdies at the second and fifth, and came home in 34 - three-under - holing a 15-foot putt on the last for an eagle three.

288 - R Elliot (Royal Portrush) 75 72 70 71. 289 - T Rice (Limerick) 73 71 75 70. 295 - A Murray (Greystones) 72 75 73 75. 296 - A Thomas (Tramore) 73 74 73 76. 297 - H Hanley (Grange) 78 74 77 68; J Kehoe (UCD) 76 74 75 72. 298 - D Sugrue (Killarney) 78 70 77 73; M Owens (Mallow) 75 79 73 71. 299 - C Martin (Nenagh) 79 78 71 71. 300 - R Symes (Shandon Park) 77 78 73 72. 301 - P Martin (Balmoral) 73 78 77 73; S Hood (Bangor) 74 74 77 76. 302 - G Rogers (The Island) 75 75 75 77. 303 - C Brown (Royal Portrush) 77 74 77 75; A Eagle (Tandragee) 73 76 74 80. 304 - G Wardlow (Shandon Park) 72 79 75 78; C Moriarty (Athlone) 80 74 76 74. 305 - R O'Keeffe (Skerries) 79 78 72 76; G Maybin (Ballyclare) 79 75 78 73; D Carroll (Grange) 73 80 77 75; M McGeady (City of Derry) 76 77 75 77. 306 - A Lundy (Portstewart) 80 77 76 73; D O'Brien (L & B) 77 78 74 77; G Lunny (Naas) 81 73 76 76; S Gorry (Sudbury) 75 78 77 76; A Lynch (Univ of Stirling) 76 79 76 75. 307 - L Dalton (Waterford) 79 74 75 79. 310 - S McMonagle (Dunfanaghy) 77 74 77 82. 311 - R Cannon (Balbriggan) 82 72 82 75. 312 - G McNeill (Waterford) 80 73 83 76; J Mulready (Castle) 81 76 79 76. 313 - E McLoughlin (Tullamore) 81 76 82 74. 314 - P McLaughlin (Ballyliffin) 79 77 78 80. 315 - M Murphy (Waterville) 79 77 80 79. 318 - J Flood (Woodbrook) 79 78 77 84. Retired injured - M Flanagan (The Island).

Former Irish champion Barbara Hackett finished just two strokes off the lead after the first qualifying round of the British Women's Amateur Championship at Little Aston yesterday.

The 28-year-old Munster champion from the Castletroy club opened her challenge with a level par 72, a round which included three successive birdies from the third hole.

Hackett was just two strokes off the pace set by French champion, Karine Icher, while Germany's Miriam Nagl was the only other player in the field to break par yesterday in the tough conditions.