Irish Strokeplay ChampionshipIt's the marquee pairing, a sporting conflict between the two golfers who have dominated the headlines in the Irish Amateur Close Championship to date.
Rory McIlroy and Andrew Pitcher vied for the honour of leading qualifier from the strokeplay stage of the tournament, and as the field has been whittled down to 16 players after two rounds of matchplay they have been thrown into direct opposition this morning.
The 19-year-old Island golfer, Pitcher, filched the silver medal for the leading qualifier from McIlroy's back pocket, and it wasn't the first time he has trumped his high-profile opponent. The pair met at the corresponding stage of last year's North of Ireland Championship, when Pitcher triumphed 4 and 3.
McIlroy's recollection of that occasion was succinct: "I played poorly and he deserved to win."
There is more at stake for the 17-year-old, as he is defending his Irish Close title, and there is the expectation - almost unanimous in a straw poll of the remaining competitors - that he is the player to beat.
Pitcher smiled: "It'll be a bit of a showdown alright, but it should also be a bit of fun. I beat him in the North last year and we halved a foursomes in the Boys interpros a few years back, so he hasn't beaten me yet.
"Seriously though, I won't be intimidated by Rory because I know him so well. To be honest, even though I beat him last year, all the pressure will be on him."
The only problem for Pitcher is that McIlroy has given a fair impression thus far of being impervious to outside agencies, be it the wind, the difficulty of the course or, as was the case yesterday, a brace of opponents. The Holywood youngster toughed it out in the morning to nudge past Adrian Morrow 2 and 1 despite being dogged by an errant game, before trimming Stephen Grant 5 and 4.
The stiff wind, every bit as demanding as the previous day, was offset slightly by the decision to move forward eight tees. This didn't emasculate a links course that required management skills as well as technical ability.
The common thread in post-round inquests was the importance of making pars, which are often good enough to win holes. McIlroy, despite nursing a sore throat, was content with his day's work.
"I played well in the afternoon. I'm getting used to it (the wind and course) and that's why the numbers were better."
Referring to this morning's game, he admitted: "He (Pitcher) is obviously playing well. The last time we met he was hitting his two-irons further than my driver. It should be a good."
Jonathan Caldwell, second in the recent East of Ireland Championship, didn't go past the 16th green in winning his matches, while former Junior British Open champion Cian McNamara required a phenomenal touch on the greens - he singled-putted eight times from the 10th to the 17th, amassing six pars and two birdies - to see off the challenge of Niall Gorey.
Former World Universities champion Darren Crowe emerged victorious from two tough matches, accounting for The Island's Robert McCarthy and then edging past Cian Daly.
"You have to accept that you are going to have doubles (bogeys) out there. I just tried to keep my swing smooth in the conditions and looked for a low ball flight."
He will face Robert Cannon, the Laytown and Bettystown man who beat East of Ireland champion Brendan McCarroll in the morning and Kevin Stack of Dungarvan in the afternoon.
In the bottom half of the draw, Mallow jeweller David Finn, a runner-up to McIlroy in the 2005 West of Ireland Championship, is through to the last 16, as is Mullingar's Des Morgan, who has retained his form from the strokeplay stage. The Curragh's Paul O'Hanlon, beaten in the final of the West this year (McIlroy), has progressed, as the Irish Youths international outlasted former Irish Close runner-up Andrew McCormick of Scrabo and Royal Dublin's Neil O'Briain.
