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The Amateur
Connor Graham continues fine form to advance as top qualifier at The Amateur
18 Jun 24
3 mins
Scotland’s Connor Graham stood firm on a testing day to finish as the leading qualifier in The 129th Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin.
The 17-year-old from Blairgowrie, who led the 288-strong field after an opening 65 on Ballyliffin’s Old Course, fortified his position at the top with a one-under-par 71 over the Glashedy Links. Walker Cup player Graham ended his 36-hole stroke play campaign with a seven-under-par aggregate of 136 and finished three strokes clear of Norway’s Michael Alexander Mjaaseth. South Africa’s Ben van Wyk, who was the leading qualifier in last year’s Championship, rose up the leaderboard into third place on three-under with a 67 on the Glashedy Links. Graham, a former winner of The R&A Junior Open, will now look to carry his growing momentum into the match play phase as he aims to become just the fourth player after Philip Parkin, Warren Bladon and Matteo Manassero to win the qualifier and go on to capture the title.Graham shows poise and patience
During a chilly, breezy day which added plenty of menace and mischief to the golfing examination, Graham put in a composed, considered display and cemented his place at the top of the standings. One-over through 14 holes, the former Scottish Open Amateur Stroke Play champion made a strong push for the line and picked up birdies on the 15th and 17th holes to dip under-par. “I’m definitely very happy with my round in tough conditions,” he said. “It's a big confidence booster. I'm looking forward to getting into the match-play stages and playing some good golf. It’s definitely fun to be playing one-on-one against another player.” Mjaaseth briefly moved to the top after three birdies on the front nine of his second round over the Glashedy Links and reached the turn in three-under. A bogey on the 10th, however, was followed by a double-bogey on the 12th as the Norwegian’s round began to unravel. Mjaaseth steadied the ship with a neatly executed up and down for birdie on the 17th to ease into the match play stage with a 72 for four-under. “It was just tough to judge how far the ball was going to go with the wind blowing,” he said. “You don't know if it's into it or slightly helping. It's just hard to judge. It's tough out there. Links golf, you're just trying to survive.
Michael Alexander Mjaaseth - Norway
"It's tough out there. Links golf, you're just trying to survive. Match play, it's a different mentality. I still try to do the same thing. I just work on my routine and process and just keep going. In the end, it's just golf."
Finishing flourish
Van Wyk’s day had started with a bogey on the 1st hole, which only served as motivation as he made a birdie on the 4th before holing his second shot from 40 yards on the 6th for an eagle. Further birdies at the 17th and 18th saw van Wyk qualify in style. “I love match play, especially on a course like this where you can make scrappy pars over your opponents,” It's a course where you basically have to get up-and-down from the right spots. I like my chances here.” English teenager Oscar Lent also produced a grandstand finish and birdied the 16th before rolling in a long eagle putt of 50-feet on the 17th in a one-under-par 71 on the Glashedy Links for a two-under total.Drama for Ballester
In an extraordinary late salvage operation, Spain’s European Amateur champion, Jose Luis Ballester Barrio, birdied the closing three holes of the Glashedy Links in a turbulent eight-over 80 that left him on the qualifying mark of three-over. The 20-year-old, who would progress through the resulting play-off, had been handily placed after an opening 66 but endured a torrid day and a triple-bogey seven on the second was the catalyst for a ruinous run which saw him leak 11 shots in 14 holes. Ballester Barrio showed his resilience and undoubted talent on the run-in, however, and completed a hat-trick of birdies with a putt of 35-feet on the 18th to spark jubilant scenes and subsequently progressed through the sudden death play-off. “I don't even know what to say," he gasped. "I talked with my caddie. He told me that maybe four-over was going to go into a playoff. 17 really good putts today, made none of them. So I feel like maybe that (on 18) was the one, and so I'm happy with it.“It was a really, really tough and stressful round since hole two, and all the emotions came out when I made that putt."