Lowry more comfortable as favourite as several internationals bow out

WEST OF IRELAND CHAMPIONSHIP: THE SCOREBOARD by the car park detailed a litany of broken dreams.

As Shane Lowry cast his eyes across those names who had exited the West of Ireland championship here at Co Sligo Golf Club yesterday, he allowed himself a shallow sigh of relief. It'd been a close call but, unlike some other notables, he had escaped. His dream remained alive.

On a day when, thankfully, the temperatures rose a degree or two and the winds reduced in intensity from gale force to being merely of the strong variety, Lowry was one of those who threaded a path safely into the last 16 of the opening "major" of the domestic season.

Among those who didn't survive were a quintet of internationals, including Joe Lyons, the defending champion, as well as Simon Ward, Niall Kearney, Connor Doran and Cian Curley.

So, even though it had required a second-round battle to the 18th green to overcome Youths' international Nicky Grant, nobody needed to remind Lowry that his fate could have been worse.

"The guy who's going to win is always going to get matches like that. No one particularly likes to go down to the wire, but you can still take confidence out of it," said Lowry, the Irish Close champion, who is growing ever more comfortable with his role as favourite.

Indeed, matchplay is all about getting the job done; regardless of whether that requires extra holes or winning out in the country like, for instance, England's Jonathan Hurst who had the luxury of finishing both of his matches yesterday at the far end of the course. He first accounted for Pat Killeen, of Claremorris, by 7 and 5, and then defeated Cork's Alan Harrington by 7 and 6.

Others, too, enjoyed big wins. One of them was Andrew Hogan, who led the strokeplay qualifying. The 19-year-old Dubliner carried his impressive form into the matchplay and, after eking out a hard-fought first-round win over Harry Diamond on the 17th in the morning, he accounted for David Finn by 6 and 5.

And James Fox was a 4 and 3 second-round winner over Robert McCarthy, who had earlier in the day taken the scalp of Doran.

However, it was a day for forget for Royal Dublin's Niall Kearney, who was forced to withdraw with a shoulder injury without even getting as far as the turn in his second-round match with Eddie McCormack.

Kearney sustained the injury on the third tee, tried to play on, but eventually was forced to concede defeat to McCormack at the eighth hole.

Lowry's match with Grant, a player highly regarded in the game, was never likely to finish early. It was nip and tuck, with Grant having the slight advantage for much of the way until Lowry managed to level affairs on the homeward run and, then, move ahead with a 12-foot birdie on the 15th.

But, typical of the close affair, Lowry lost the 16th, where he was in a greenside bunker off the tee.

All square playing the famous 17th, a par four of 455 yards, Grant must have felt the gods were against him when his tee-shot nearly plugged just off the fairway and he was left with a dollop of mud on the ball for his approach, which skirted left of the green.

He did well to pitch his third shot to 10 feet, but wasn't required to putt out as Lowry audaciously sank a 35-footer from off the green for a winning birdie to restore his one-hole lead.

Then, on the 18th, Grant's six-footer for birdie touched the hole but refused to drop. Lowry had survived. Unquestionably the most popular player among the local galleries to progress was Gary McDermott, a 26-year-old official with the AIB in Sligo who was raised close-by the Rosses Point links. McDermott, a Connacht interprovincial and a member of Co Sligo's All-Ireland winning Senior Cup team last year, was a 2 and 1 winner over England's Ben Jones.

McDermott's reward is a third-round encounter with Hurst, a 22-year-old Englishman who is seeking to impress his international selectors.

Although involved in the delicate balancing act of trying to trying to work as well as play competitive golf in an age when so many amateurs are actually playing the game full-time, McDermott attributes a new diet and fitness regime he has followed over the winter and into spring for his increased sense of purpose.

"For me, growing up here, the West is the biggest one . . . it means the most to me," said McDermott, who imposed a ban on alcohol on himself and undertook extra gym work to prepare for this season. "I have an opportunity to play (at a high level) and I wanted to get the most out of it."

And of the added pressure of playing at home?

"Actually, the crowds are a great help," said McDermott. "I know what to expect now. In the past, I've been inclined to give opponents too much respect. Now, I just stick to my own game plan, not to get too far ahead and to stay in the present."

It's a philosophy that's worked well so far.