The Amateur

HIGHLIGHTS: Kennedy keeps Irish hopes alive at The Amateur

The R&A

19 Jun 24

3 mins

Max Kennedy will carry Irish hopes into the last 32 of The 129^th Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin.

On a bright and breezy day over the Glashedy Links, Kennedy was left as the last Irishman standing after easing to a 3&2 win over France’s Oscar Couilleau in the opening match play round.

A total of 28 host nation hopefuls had started the week but only Kennedy and Sean Keeling passed the stern 36-hole stroke play qualifying examination.

Lone hope

Keeling fell at the first hurdle with a 5&3 loss to the trailblazing Lev Grinberg, who is the first Ukrainian golfer to reach the match play rounds. But Kennedy marched on in his quest to emulate the success of his compatriot, James Sugrue, who won the title the last time The Amateur Championship was held on Irish soil, at Portmarnock, in 2019. Kennedy’s impressive short game was a valuable weapon in the armoury as the 22-year-old Dubliner forged a two-hole advantage on the outward half. A brace of important up-and-downs, meanwhile, from tricky spots in the bunkers at the 9^th and the 10^th kept Couilleau at bay. Those salvage operations helped Kennedy set up a second round duel with England’s Charlie Forster, who edged out Spain’s European Amateur champion, Jose Luis Ballester Barrio, at the 20^th hole. “My short game was really sharp today,” said Kennedy. “On 9 and 10, I got up-and-down from really tough bunker shots. I hit them to within gimmie range. "Both of those holes just gave me really nice momentum going into the back nine which I was able to capitalise on.”

Connor Graham - Scotland

“I had a wee bad spell there at the turn but I regrouped and started playing better golf on the back nine.”

No 1 qualifier advances

Scotsman Connor Graham, the No 1 qualifier, was pushed all the way to the 18^th by England’s Mark Stockdale in the opening match of the day but staved off his opponent’s spirited advances with a birdie putt of 25-feet on the last to clinch a one-hole victory. Graham, whose Blairgowrie club-mate Bradley Neil won The Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush a decade ago, endured a shaky spell around the turn and took two to extricate himself from the bunker on the 9^th before losing a ball with a wayward drive off the 10^th tee. The 17-year-old Walker Cup player regained his composure, however, and emerged triumphant from a keenly contested tussle. “It was a good match,” said Graham. “It was very back-and-forth on the back nine but I’m happy to come out on the top. “I had a wee bad spell there at the turn but I regrouped and started playing better golf on the back nine.”

Birthday incentive

South African golfers have won the last two Amateur Championships and hopes of a triple crown rest with sole survivor, Jordan Burnand, who beat Spain’s Pablo Alperi Lopez by a 3&1 margin. As well as trying to keep South Africa’s winning run going, Burnand has an added incentive this week. The 23-year-old celebrates his birthday on the eve of the final on Friday. Four-up through 11 holes, Burnand did not have it all his own way on the back-nine but the reigning South African Stroke Play champion got himself over the winning line during a nip-and-tuck encounter. Walker Cup player Conor Gough, who won The R&A’s Boys’ Amateur Championship in 2018, underlined his match play prowess with a 3&1 victory over Denmark’s Jamie Tofte Nielsen. His fellow Englishman, Oscar Lent, enjoyed a commanding 6&5 win over the Asia-Pacific Amateur champion, Jasper Stubbs of Australia, while there were first round victories too for Walker Cup players Calum Scott, James Ashfield and Jack Bigham.

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