In the still of evening, Stuart Paul watched delightedly as a 35-foot birdie putt rolled unerringly into the 18th hole at Rosses Point yesterday. While giving him a course-record 66 in the first qualifying round of the Standard Life West of Ireland Championship, it swept the Ulsterman three strokes clear of the field.

"That was my best shot of the round," said the 30-year-old of the closing putt. But in truth, Paul produced a succession of memorable shots, hitting 17 greens in regulation. Indeed the overall quality of his play can be gauged from the fact that he had as many as 33 putts in a five-under-par score.

Behind him in the order, teenagers displayed discipline way beyond their years to rival Paul with the quality of their course management. Indeed there were many older hands who could have learned from the quiet efficiency of Ballyliffin's Philip McLaughlin and local challenger, Martin McTernan.

McLaughlin, an 18-year-old member of the Irish quartet to compete in the World Junior Team Championship in Hyogo, Japan, on June 15th to 18th, matched Paul by hitting 17 greens in regulation, en route to a 69. And 17-year-old local youth, McTernan, was only marginally less accurate while carding an admirable 70.

By way of contrast, 51-yearold Tony Hayes had five bogeys to offset five birdies on the way to a level-par 71. And while the event's oldest challenger, Barry Reddan, also had five birdies, he conceded seven strokes to the course, albeit in a highly acceptable 73. In their perennial battle with the elements, it is to the credit of the Co Sligo club that they managed to achieve good, early-season growth on the greens. But it was equally clear that competitors were experiencing difficulty in guiding short putts into the target over uneven surfaces. Former champion Noel Fox missed four putts of about two feet on the way to a 74. And Ashbourne member Cathal Conaty, who was experiencing Rosses Point for the first time as a promoted reserve, four-putted the long second in a round of 72. Ken Kearney, on the other hand, admitted to a general rustiness when shooting a disappointing 77.

This is an important event for Fox, in which he hopes to maintain the competitive edge before departing to The Belfry later this month for a Walker Cup training session. "I've been working hard on my game in recent weeks and have played a lot with Eamonn Brady since his return from the US," he said.

Fox, one of four Irish players in the Walker Cup squad, is determined to give himself every chance of selection by playing in qualifying tournaments such as the Lytham Trophy, Irish Amateur Open, Brabazon Trophy and St Andrews Trophy. "With those events in mind, I want to keep my game tight," he added.

Meanwhile Paul confirmed the old golfing belief that however difficult the conditions, somebody will find a way of overcoming them. He did it by sinking birdie putts of 25 feet (first), 20 feet (fourth), 15 feet (ninth) and 35 feet (18) and he also birdied the long third which he reached in two and three-putted the long fifth for a par.

The teenagers were happy to stay in touch. "I'm really pleased to have kept mistakes down to a minimum," said McLaughlin, who was runner-up to Derek McNamara in the Connacht Youths last weekend. It could be argued that he deserved a little good fortune having disqualified himself last year for taking an illegal drop.

McTernan will be remembered for having thrown the betting into disarray by beating everyone's favourite, Kearney, in the opening round last year.