Youths beaten on countback

Ireland were licking their wounds last night after narrowly failing to keep alive their hopes of clinching European Team titles at both Youths' and Boys' level.

It was truly agonising how Ireland failed to make it into the top flight of the Youths' contest in Gdansk, Poland, missing out simply on a countback of discarded scores over the two days.

And unfortunately, it was the seven-over-par 79 of Brian McElhinney yesterday that cost them a place in the top eight.

Both the Irish and the Austrians finished on 734 - sharing eighth spot - which meant it had to be decided on countback.

Alistair McKinley of Shandon Park, Royal Dublin's Darren Crowe and Derek McNamara (Connemara) produced some excellent golf, returning 72, 73, and 73 respectively, but it wasn't quite good enough.

In the Boys' championship in Reykjavik, Ireland missed out by some five strokes after a gutsy second day display.

Gareth Shaw of Lurgan returned a splendid 71, but unfortunately Ireland had to count the 79 of Co Sligo's Martin McTernan.

Ireland finished on 764 and, like their Youths' team, in ninth place which means they cannot now bid for the crown.

Meanwhile, college golf's most prestigious international competition, the Palmer Cup, starts today at the new Greg Norman- designed links at Doonbeg Golf Club in Co Clare.

Named in honour of Arnold Palmer and being held for the first time in Ireland, the Palmer Cup is an annual matchplay competition between eight college golfers from Britain and Ireland and their counterparts from the United States.

Ireland's sole representative is the current South of Ireland champion, UCD's Justin Kehoe who plays out of Birr GC. The matches consist of four rounds over two days, beginning with fourball matches this morning.

PALMER CUP TEE-TIMES: 8:00 a.m: Philip Rowe and Oliver Wilson (Brit and Irl) v Brock Mackenzie and Nick Watney (USA); 8:10: Andy Smith and Justin Walters (Brit and Irl) v Ryan Hybl and Lee Williamson (USA); 8:20: Geoff Harris and Stuart Manley (Brit and Irl) v John Klauk and Hunter Mahan (USA); 8:30: Justin Kehoe and Stuart Wilson (Brit and Irl) v Bill Haas and D J Trahan (USA).

EUROPEAN YOUTHS' TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS (in Gdansk, Poland) - First flight qualifiers; 710 England (68 L Corfield, 70 J Elson, 71 Z Scotland, 71 D Wardrop, 74 Y Ali, 77 D Skinns (discarded)); 710 Spain; 721 Sweden; 723 Germany; 727 Scotland (69 J McCleary, 71 J Doherty, 72 D Inglis, 73 D Sutton, 74 M Laird, 77 S Jamieson (discarded)); 727 Switzerland; 732 Finland; 734 Austria. Second flight qualifiers; 734 Ireland (72 A McKinley, 73 D Crowe, 73 D McNamara, 74 S McTernan, 78 R McCarthey, 79 B McElhinney (discarded)); 735 France; 738 Norway; 738 Wales 746 Denmark; 746 Italy; 759 Netherlands; Portugal. Third flight qualifiers; 759 Iceland, 774 Belgium; 795 Czech Republic; 862 Poland.

EUROPEAN BOYS' TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS (in Reykjavik, Iceland) - First flight qualifiers; 728 Spain; 733 Sweden; 750 France; 752 Wales; 754 Finland; 754 Denmark; 757 England; 759 Scotland; Second flight qualifiers; 764 Ireland (71 G Shaw, 73 C Bowe, 74 J Cauldwell, 76 M Mulryan, 79 M McTernan, 81 D Rawluk (discarded); 765 Belgium; 769 Germany; 773 Italy; 778 Switzerland; 793 Austria; 793 Turkey; 794 Netherlands.Third flight qualifiers; 798 Iceland; 829 Czech Republic; 858 Greece.

EUROPEAN U-21 WOMEN'S TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP (in Moscow) - First flight qualifiers: 728 Germany; 734 Spain; 749 Sweden; 753 Italy; 756 Scotland; 758 England; 760 Russia; 765 Switzerland. Second flight qualifiers: 765 France; 766 Wales; 771 Finland; 782 Netherlands; 789 Ireland (77 M Gillen, 78 G O'Leary, 78 H Nolan, 81 M Dunne, 81 A Duggan, 85 S Hayes (discarded)).