Leonard's loss an Irish gain

A NEW LOOK Rory Leonard and three more of the Ulster team who successfully defended the Youths Interprovincial Championship at Clandeboye last weekend will backbone the Irish team for Friday's annual encounter with Wales at Royal St David's.

Leonard, a product of the same Banbridge system that produced Raymond Burns, has benefited enormously from the fitness and diet programme developed for the GUI by Belfast based consultant Helen Lennon: he has lost some four stones in weight, now wears a 44 inch jacket instead of a size 50, and has seen his waist reduced from 48 inches to 40.

And his golf appears to have responded too. Leonard was an integral part of Ulster's defence of the interprovincial crown and is rewarded with selection on the Irish team for the match against Wales and the Gold Cross youth tournament which takes place at St David's this weekend.

Johnny Foster, winner of the Munster youths championship earlier this season, was the only player to emerge from the interprovincials with six wins out of six matches, further confirmation of his progress. Leonard, Foster, Peter Martin and Ciaran McMonagle are the four Ulster players in the Welsh bound team, along with Ballinasloe's Nigel Howley, holder of the Connacht youths' title, and Greystones Alan Murray.

Meanwhile, three of Ireland's top amateurs - Peter Lawrie, Keith Nolan and Richie Coughlan - have been selected on the eight man British and Irish collegiate team to take on their American counterparts in the inaugural Palmer Cup competition, a Ryder Cup type event which takes place at Bay Hill on July 10th-12th.

Lawrie, the Irish Close champion, who is on a golfing scholarship to UCD, is the only Irish based player to make the team. Nolan and Coughlan are both on scholarships to the United States.

The Irish British team actually features six players who are attending US colleges: Nolan and Coughlan, Scotland's Allan McDonald and Andrew Lawrence and English pair Andrew White and Martin LeMesurier. Lawrie and Scotland's Neil Stevens, a student in Edinburgh, are the only players included in the travelling party who are not based in the US.

The Palmer Cup is considered an ideal warm up for the Walker Cup, which takes place at Quaker Ridge in August, but the selection of Lawrie, Nolan and Coughlan for the event means they will be unable to participate in the North of Ireland championship at Royal Portrush.

US players who will be playing at Quaker Ridge include Brad Elder, Robert Floyd. Ted Oh, Bo Van Pelt, Brian Hull, Joel Kriebel and Chris Wollman and the winner of this year's US college championship.

. Margaret Alexander, of Black Bush, showed nerves of steel to claim the Leinster Junior Championship for the Duggan Cup at Clontarf. The Dunshaughlin player took the crown with a 19th hole win over another Meath golfer, Marie Branigan of Royal Tara.