BRITISH AMATEUR OPEN:IRISH HOPES in the British Amateur Open Championship disappeared at Formby on the Lancashire coast yesterday as Dubliner Niall Kearney and Simon Ward from Co Louth both fell by the wayside in the third round.
Kearney always knew he would be up against it in his match with England’s top player Sam Hutsby – and it proved to be a herculean task for the Brabazon Trophy winner.
Kearney, who will try later in the month to help Ireland win a third consecutive European Amateur Team title, was two down early on and always had to play catch-up, in the end crashing to a 5 and 4 defeat.
“Sam is a very good player and I can have no grumbles about the result – he was the better player today,”said Kearney.
Hutsby went on to reach the quarter-finals, with a two and one victory over Germany Maximillian Kieffer.
Ward had his nose in front for much of the time against Denmark’s Peter Baunsoe and was one up with five to play but then his rival moved up a gear to level matters at 15. A brilliant second shot to the last gave Baunsoe the birdie opportunity he wanted – and he made no mistake.
Baunsoe was later knocked out by brilliant Italian teenager Matteo Manassero.
In this morning’s quarter-finals Manassero plays last year’s runner-up Tommy Fleetwood; Scotland’s Mark Hillson faces England’s Darren Renwick; Dutchman Jurian van der Vaart plays Hutsby and Swede Nils Floren tackles South African Ryan Drewer.
