Fox sets his sights on treble in majors

Padraig Harrington's travails in the US Open Championship at Pebble Beach this week will hardly prompt Noel Fox to maintain a late-night vigil. The Portmarnock golfer will be preoccupied by his own golfing agenda, namely the Golfsure-sponsored Irish Amateur Close Championship that begins at Royal Portrush today.

Fox will be hoping that he can emulate his former international team-mate by adding the Irish Close title to the Irish Amateur Open Championship that he annexed in superb fashion early in the year. Harrington was the last player to claim this particular double back in 1995.

Fox has already enjoyed a brace of victories this season, producing a marvellous final round in the East of Ireland at Co Louth before pipping Mark Murphy in a playoff. It would be the second occasion this season that the colourful Murphy would bow at the final hurdle, having previously lost the West of Ireland final to Eamonn Brady.

A hat-trick of championships in the one season seems improbable despite Fox's latent quality and excellent form. One hundred and fifty competitors will tee up at Portrush today and tomorrow, striving to guarantee a place among the top 64 that will earn the right to matchplay action.

The calibre of competitor is manifest in cataloguing the honours of several golfers this season. Defending champion, Dun fanaghy's Ciaran McMonagle won the South African Open Strokeplay at East London GC in March, Brady, the West of Ireland, Fox, the Irish Open and East titles and Michael McDermott the Transvaal Open.

This is without reference to internationals Ken Kearney, Gary Cullen, Michael Hoey, Adrian Morrow, David Jones and Garth McGimpsey who can all claim genuine championship aspirations. McGimpsey, winner of 14 championships in his illustrious career is perhaps best versed with the demands of the marvellous Dunluce links, having won five North of Ireland titles here and also an Irish Close crown.

Of the younger generation, Stackstown duo McDermott and last year's South of Ireland champion Mark Campbell will be difficult to beat while Stuart Paul, Michael Sinclair, Tim Rice and Stephen Browne are others who have featured prominently at the highest level in recent seasons.

In discerning the potential champion, McGimpsey offers perhaps the best identikit: "I like to think of Portrush as a course that will reward a strong player with a good brain and who happens to find some form on the greens." And so there you have it . . . anyone got a pin.

England's Lee Slattery claimed his first professional victory at the golfmarket.com Tulfarris Classic yesterday after a level par final round gave him a one-shot win over Craig Evans and Robert Wragg. Sean Quinlivan and Philip Walton were best of the Irish in a tie for fifth place.