We had been promised a change in the weather. Locals neglected to explain, however, that it would become immeasurably worse, with gale-force winds and relentless rain lashing brave young hearts, when the Golf-sure-sponsored Irish Close Championship progressed to the semi-final stage at Rosses Point yesterday. Even in such circumstances, the morning departure of holder and favourite, Graeme McDowell, could have been put down to the vagaries of matchplay. But when another Walker Cup aspirant, Timmy Rice, joined the casualty list, one suspected the elements had distorted the competitive picture overall.
In the event, Stephen Browne of Hermitage will meet Darren Crowe of Dunmurry in the first semi-final this morning, to be followed by a clash between Danny Sugrue of Killarney and Waterford's Gavin McNeill.
As it happened, Browne, who will play for Ireland in the forthcoming European Team Championship in Sweden, felt he had performed well after taking an approximate 80 strokes for 18 holes. And indicative of the wind strength was that he couldn't reach the 369-yard 18th with two well-hit drivers, whereas it was almost within range off the tee, downwind on Sunday.
Against that background, McNeill had reason to be proud of a one-under-par front nine which included birdies at the second, sixth and eighth, in his quarterfinal win over Sean McTernan. One up at that stage, the Waterford player was only three over par when the match ended on the 15th.
The departure of McTernan caused deep disappointment locally, especially after the way he had ridden his luck with a win over Rice, who lost a ball left off the tee on the first tie hole. In the opening round on Monday morning, the Co Sligo player had come from three down with four to play to beat Andrew Morris of Belvoir Park on the 20th.
But there was no escape against McNeill, who was tutored by Nick Bradley in the Leadbetter Academy at Mount Juliet. In fact, he has since travelled to London in recent months to continue lessons with the same teacher, and it would appear to be a most productive arrangement, judging by the quality of his ball-striking. Meanwhile, McDowell, who was attempting to become the first player to successfully defend this crown since Joe Carr in 1965, was devastated at losing to Balmoral's Peter Martin.
"My putting let me down at a crucial stage of the round," he said by way of reference to lip-outs from close range at the 12th, 13th and 14th. In a way, the extent of his disappointment was impressive, if only to illustrate how seriously he was taking the defence of his national title.
Browne, who lost to Michael Sinclair in the semi-finals of this event at Killarney two years ago, expected play to be suspended during the third round yesterday morning. "After I had marked and replaced my ball on the second green, it rolled about 12 feet to be only inches from the hole," he said. "With balls moving to that extent, I thought officials would call a halt."
Survival skills became all the more crucial as the day progressed. And two of the key moments of Browne's quarter-final match with Eoin O'Sullivan of The Island, illustrated the point graphically. The first of these came at the par-four sixth where, downwind, Browne drove out of bounds and later holed a 10-foot putt with his second ball for what proved to be a winning bogey: his opponent three-putted from three feet. On the 15th, the situation was reversed, with Browne four-putting to lose the hole.
Then came the 216-yard 16th where Browne hit his best shot of the day - a middle-of-the-stance driver which he drilled low into the wind, landing it 25 feet from the pin. But the Hermitage player then called a penalty on himself when his ball moved on the green at address.
Still, a bogey four was good enough to win the hole and square the match. And he secured victory on the 18th where a beautifully-judged nine-iron pitch-and-run shot ended three feet from the pin, from where he sank the putt for a winning par. His verdict? "That was unquestionably the toughest day's golf I have ever endured."
Browne's semi-final opponent, Crowe, could embarrass the Irish youth selectors who didn't consider him good enough for the international against Scotland later this month. He will certainly be a handful for Browne if he repeats quarter-final form which saw him cover the first seven holes in three under par to be five up on Martin.
At the bottom end of the draw, Sugrue survived the shock of losing the 18th, to secure a quarter-final win over Connemara's David Mortimer at the first tie hole. Mortimer had parred the 18th with a glorious two-iron onto the green, but ironically, his accuracy deserted him downwind on the next, where it took him three to make the putting surface.
Naturally, we are hoping for a further change in the weather, in the firm belief that it simply cannot get any worse. After all, when was the last time there was midsummer snow at Rosses Point?
Details
Third Round Top half: E O'Sullivan (The Island) bt P Murray (Kinsale) 3 and 2; S Browne (Hermitage) bt G Hall (Edenderry) 2 and 1; D Crowe (Dunmurry) bt M Campbell (UCD/Stackstown) 1 hole; P Martin (Balmoral) bt G McDowell (Rathmore) 3 and 2.
Bottom half: D Sugrue (Killarney) bt M Horan (Birr) 2 holes; D Mortimer (Connemara) bt P Purdy (Shandon Park) 3 and 1; G McNeill (Waterford) bt M Ryan (Grange) 1 hole; S McTernan (Co Sligo) bt T Rice (Limerick) at 19th. Quarter-Finals Browne bt O'Sullivan - 1 hole Crowe bt Martin - 2 and 1 Sugrue bt Mortimer - on 19th McNeill bt McTernan - 4 and 3
