GOLF:ON THE type of day on Bull Island where you could almost see the wind – with a sea mist blowing in off the Irish Sea, whistling across the links in gusts of up to 30 miles an hour and ultimately escaping over the estuary to the mainland – those with aspirations to the Irish Amateur Open championship title at Royal Dublin Golf Club were asked some serious questions in yesterday's first round.
But Dutch teenager Robert Kind found the answer. In fact, Kind – a runner-up to two-time European Tour winner Matteo Manassero in the European Young Masters of 2007 – proved his own quality with the only sub-par round of the day, a one-under-par 71, to assume a one-stroke lead over other young pretenders.
Ian Brennan, a 20-year-old from Greenore, who took advantage of being in the first group out before the wind got up to its full strength, and 17-year-old Welshman Rhys Pugh, finished a shot behind Kind after level par 72s.
Indeed, the youthful configuration was further endorsed by teenager and Leaving Cert student Paul Dunne and Colin Fairweather, while defending champion Alan Dunbar and South of Ireland champion John Greene joined them on 73 to be nicely positioned to take on the roles of pursuers of Kind.
It was a tough old day with a number of players signing for scores in the 90s. Kind, though, has no such problems as he overcame a poor start – which included a double-bogey six at the third. His highlight came at the 16th as he holed out with a lob-wedge from 87 yards for an eagle two.
Kind played in the Spanish and Portuguese championships and in last week’s Lytham Trophy. It is all part of his plan to be in tip-top shape for the upcoming British Amateur championship.
But there is a lot of quality in the chasing pack. Pugh has earned a big reputation in Wales, while Dunne – who captained the Britain and Ireland team in last year’s Jacques Leglise Trophy – played steady golf after suffering a double-bogey six at the sixth followed by a bogey at the seventh to complete the rest of the journey home in level par for a 73.
Dunbar’s 73 was achieved quite differently He limited the damage to a bogey when suffering a lost ball in bushes on the ninth and then required an eagle three on the Par 5 14th, where he chased his approach up to the green from the right rough, to get into a nice position for the weekend. “I played solid. I’m comfortable here and know the course so well,” he said.
Another of Ireland’s Walker Cup panellists, Paul Cutler, recent winner of the West of Ireland, is still very much in the hunt after a 75 which included double-bogeys on the ninth and 10th.
