Master McIlroy making his mark

West of Ireland: Rory McIlroy allowed himself a furtive glance at his opponent, John Junior Morris, as he stooped to mark his ball on the home green at Rosses Point, three feet from the flagstick. Morris was oblivious as he stalked the 15-foot putt he required to take the tie into extra holes.

The outcome of the match had been distilled into a single stroke, but a bobble less than a foot after the impact of ball on putter meant Morris's putt came up short. McIlroy, displaying the absolute belief of callow youth, calmly dispatched his putt with the minimum of fuss.

The 14-year-old from the Holywood club in Co Down is providing the most engaging story of the Standard Life-sponsored West of Ireland Amateur Open Championships, and not just because of his tender years. Having negotiated the 36-hole qualifying for the matchplay stages - 64 qualifiers - he produced scintillating golf in yesterday morning's first round, and was seven under par for the 16 holes it required to beat former international Pat Murray: the latter was four under when the match finished.

After lunch, McIlroy set about tackling another former international, Morris, and while the scoring was less exhilarating, the contest certainly was not.

The youngster admitted: "It was more nerve-wracking in the afternoon because of the crowds," - a reference to the gallery of about 350 that basked in the glorious sunshine as they surveyed the duel.

Those nerves manifested themselves on the first hole as McIlroy three-putted to go one down. It was to prove his only aberration. He hit every green in regulation, birdied the third and was conceded a birdie putt at the 13th.

The match was all square as they headed for the 12th tee, but a bogey would cost Morris the hole and he fell further behind by conceding the next.

The Cork-born, Mullingar-based Morris enjoys a deserved reputation for being an excellent match player. It's illustrated by the fact that he has beaten five Ryder Cup players in his time, Padraig Harrington, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Jose Maria Olazabal (British Boys) and Joakim Haeggman (European Team Championships).

Employing his broom-handle putter to telling effect, he holed several clutch putts, not least a 15-footer on the 17th.

McIlroy split the 18th fairway with his drive while Morris tugged it into the rough on the left, but after receiving a drop floated a wedge to 16 feet, just inside his opponent. There was to be no escape this time.

There were several high-profile casualties, notably Noel Fox, local favourite Seán McTernan, Rory Leonard, Andrew McCormick, Darren Crowe and Mark O'Sullivan, while the performance of the day was arguably Sweden's Rikard Karlberg, who set a course record 65 in the qualifying. He dusted Melvin Flanagan six and five in the morning and then was a staggering six under for 12 holes in the afternoon when taking out the 2002 Irish Close champion John McGinn eight and six.