Sport

Evans in line for medal with record-equalling 64

International Darren Crowe reckoned he had done a good day's work when he carded a five-under-par 65 on the Valley course at …

Tue Jul 15 2003 - 01:00

International Darren Crowe reckoned he had done a good day's work when he carded a five-under-par 65 on the Valley course at Royal Portrush yesterday during the opening qualifying round in the Magners North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship.

A creditable performance, no doubt, but the Dunmurry youth ended second best as unsung hero Randal Evans breezed in with a record-equalling 64 to set himself up for another medal in the annual tournament.

"I though my round was pretty good stuff," reflected 22-year-old Crowe. The flame-haired plus-two handicapper fired seven birdies with his only slip-ups being a bad drive at the 12th and finding sand at the 17th to drop a stroke each time.

He holed putts of up to 30 feet as he polished off his round with a neat birdie two from 10 feet after a seven-iron tee-shot.

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Evans set a course record of eight-under-par 64 on Dunluce last season on his way to being the leading qualifier and but for a blip at the eighth hole yesterday would have pencilled in a record from the Valley.

He decorated his card with an eagle three at the 10th hole and five birdies. The eagle was made with a 20-foot putt and at the last hole he made a good par three after rifling his five-iron tee-shot to the back of the green, 70 feet from the flag.

Mark Ryan's main ambition this season is to win his first senior international cap.

He shot an opening qualifying score of 68 on the Valley Course and, like the rest from there, will today tackle the jumbo Dunluce links for a place in the matchplay stages.

"This year, the Home Internationals will be played at Ballybunion and that's where I got my interest in golf," reveals the 6 ft 2 in scratch player.

"I spent a lot of my childhood holidays at Ballybunion and began playing golf in those days. It would be very nice to get my first senior cap there."

Ryan, who won the West of Ireland title earlier in the year, birdied the first hole with a nine iron to two feet but lost the advantage when he missed the green at the short third hole.

He then pencilled in back-to-back birdies at the long fourth, where he was on in two, and the par-four fifth where he was on the green with a sand-iron and holed from 10 feet. A three-putt at the seventh cost him a stroke and after being in a gully at the long 10th, where most players were picking up birdies, he made bogey.

"I calmed myself down after that and made birdies at the 11th and 13th holes from four feet and six feet," he said.

Defending champion and Walker Cup hopeful Gareth Maybin eased round in level par 70, the same as five-times champion and Walker Cup captain Garth McGimpsey.

As usual, the tougher Dunluce track tested the higher handicap players with former Irish League soccer player Michael Smyth from Ballymena and Colin Steele (Ballyclare) posting 73s.

FIRST ROUND QUALIFYING SCORES

At the Valley Course (par 70): 64 - R Evans (Moyola Pk); 65 - D Crowe (Dunmurry); 66 - M Campbell (Stackstown), R Forsythe (Ballyclare); 67 - R McCarthy (The Island), W Telford (Rathmore), B McElhinney (North West), R Mann (Cairndhu), D Mulholland (Castlerock); 68 - S Bell (Ballymena), M Sinclair (Knock), C Moriarty (Clandeboye), M Ryan (Grange), C Doran (Banbridge); 69 - A McCormick (Scrabo), M McDermott (Stackstown), A McKinley (Shandon Pk), J Rafferty (San Diego), J Foster (Ballyclare), M McGarry (Ballymena), N Cunningham (Belvoir Pk), F O'Donoghue (Belvoir Pk); 70 - G McGimpsey (Bangor), M McTernan (Co Sligo), J Turner (Royal Portrush), G Maybin (Ballyclare), M McGeady (City of Derry), D Kyle (Royal Belfast), C Bowe (Tramore), G Managh (Knock), J Sutton (Castletown); 71 - B Hobson (Shandon Pk), M Thompson (Bangor), R Leonard (Banbridge), R Maher (Nenagh), S McTernan (Co Sligo), N Crawford (Mourne), K O'Neill (Strandhill), L Mulligan (Co Longford), C Wallace (Dungannon), B Trainor (Warrenpoint), H Diamond (Holywood), J Caldwell (Clandeboye), M Windebank (Royal Portrush), E McCormack (Slieve Russell), J Crangle (Fortwilliam); 72 - T Kearney (Ballyliffin), C Murphy (Clandeboye), C Clancy (Stackstown), M Malone (Belvoir Pk), E McAnoy (Knock), H MacKeown (Portmarnock), R Williams (Baltinglass), M Rea (Rowany); 73 - J Barton (Ballinasloe), M McMurray (Bangor), G Noble (Knock), B Kilgallon (Ballina), D Cook (Knock), B Galway (Ciarndhu), D Quilligan (Elm Pk), M Hammond (Moyola Pk), A Wilson (Cairndhu), A McCloy (Ballymena), C Hughes (Royal Portrush), G Mallon (North West), K Kempton (Moyola Pk), G Lynas (Shandon Pk); 74 - I Moore (Dunmurry), D Leathem (Lisburn), J McDermott (Stackstown), B Reid (Pebble Beach), S Kyle (Hilton), L Moore (City of Derry), F Tallon (Lurgan), L Owens (Royal Dublin), A Morris (Belvoir Pk). R Cannon (Balbriggan), G Henry (Lisburn), C Brown (Royal Portrush), D Logue (Letterkenny), T Coulter (Massereene), G Bowden (Hermitage), J Baker (Bath), G Forbes (Newtownstewart), T McClements (Holywood), B McCarroll (Ballyliffin); 75 - D McWilliams (Holywood), K Poole (Tandragee), T Spence (Clandebloye), S Murray (Moyola Pk), A Lamont (Castlerock), B Garvan (Castlerock), C Speirs (Dunkeld), S Miskelly (Knock), R Higgins (Castlerock), D Adams (Donaghadee), R Kilpatrick (Banbridge), D Coyle (Co Louth), R Boal (Scrabo), B Stokes (Spa), G Hamill (Ardglass), J Drummond (Ballyclare).

At Dunluce (par 72): 73 - C Steele (Ballyclare), M Smyth (Ballymena); 74 - R McCrabbe (Castlerock); 75 - D McKenna (City of Derry), C Montgomery (Malone), C Wilson (Belvoir Pk); 76 - R Barnes (Royal Blackheath), S Quigg (City of Derry), N Jenkins (Donaghadee); 77 - A Dunn (St Andrew's Univ), G McCausland (Shandon Pk), C McClenaghan (Spa), P Vaughan (Ardglass), S McGarry (Ballymena), W McAtamney (Carrickfergus), D Vaughan (Ardglass), C Darrah (Ballyclare), S Pickering (Moyola Pk); 78 - D Beattie (Whitehead), J Heaslip (Ballyclare), M Molloy (Silverwood), E Heywood (City of Derry), G Stevenson (Royal Portrush), G Jones (Belvoir Pk), P Gough (Portstewart), M McCormick (West Middlesex), P Rodgers (Dunmurry), M Phillips (Down Royal), P O'Hara (Elm Pk), S McVey (Banbridge), R Kane (Bangor), D O'Neill (Greenisland); 79 - S McClure (Massereene), C McIlroy (Holywood), B Fitzsimmons (Downpatrick), C McCormick (Holywood), M Wilson (City of Derry), S Rea (Ballyclare), D Murphy (Dundalk), J McIlroy (Royal Co Down), I Smyth (Holywood); 80 - B Rodgers (Belvoir Pk), J Stewart (St Andrew's Univ), T Johnston (Clandeboye), N Boyd (Spa), G Dobbin (Cairndhu), S Irving (Howth), J White (Co Armagh), T Irvine (Scrabo), I Thompson (Cliftonville), S Garrett (Portstewart).