Golf: Irish amateur strokeplay champion Noel Fox returns to action this week when he take his place in the field for the St Andrews Trophy at St Andrews starting on Friday.
Last weekend, Fox passed up on the Brabazon Trophy at Hunstanton, where, in a weather-disrupted tournament, Colm Moriarty finished best of the Irish on 296 after rounds of 74, 72, 75 and 75.
England's Jonathan Lupton gave his Walker Cup hopes a major boost when he took the title with a closing round of 74 for a one-under-par total of 287. He finished two strokes ahead of Scotland's Jack Doherty and five clear of Spanish champion Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.
Lupton built the foundation for his victory with a third-round 70, a brilliant display in the tough conditions when everyone else was shedding strokes.
He went into the final round three shots clear of Doherty and stretched that to six by the turn. However, the back nine was a different story.
His lead was reduced to one when Doherty birdied the 191-yard 16th, and there is nothing easy about Hunstanton's finish, where the wind was in their faces.
Unfortunately for Doherty, he finished bogey-bogey, while Lupton escaped from the 464-yard 17th with a par four.
That meant he could double-bogey the last and still win, and although his first two shots finished in the right rough, he found the green in three and two-putted for a bogey five and victory.
Mark O'Sullivan from Galway was next best of the Irish, on 301 after rounds of 73, 75, 77 and 77, while Michael McGeady finished on 304 and Michael McDermott on 305. Justin Kehoe (Birr), Andrew McCormick (Clandeboye) and John Foster (Ballyclare) missed the cut.
Fox will be joined at St Andrews by Moriarty, Kehoe , McCormick, McDermott and McGeady.
Players from 16 countries make up the truly international field. And for the first time, a handicap of better than 1.4 was required in order to be one of the 132 players who will be challenging for the coveted silverware.
"We are delighted with the entry and are on target with our aim of making our tournament number one in the world," said Niall Flanagan, golf services manager of St Andrews Links.
"Our decision to extend the trophy to three days has gone down well with the competitors and that has been reflected in the interest from top players around the world."
South Africa lead the overseas entry with nine players, including Joshua Cunliffe and Albert Kruger, both off plus-four handicaps, while six players from the USA, four from Italy and three from New Zealand underline the popularity of Europe's top amateur strokeplay event.
Walker Cup selection is very much in the minds of players from the four home nations and 20 of the Britain and Ireland Elite Squad will be looking for a good performance to boost their chance of selection for the match against the USA in September.
Philip Rowe and Nigel Edwards have already made that step - Rowe in the 1999 match at Nairn and Welshman Edwards in the side that defeated the USA at Ocean Forest two years later.
Both players, defending champion Simon Mackenzie and the strongest field yet assembled will play one round over the New Course on Friday and one over the Old Course on Saturday, and the top 40 and ties play a further 36 holes over the Old Course on the Sunday.
On the US Collegiate circuit, North of Ireland champion Gareth Maybin just failed to secure a place in the NCAA finals when he bogeyed the final two holes.
Maybin, the first-round joint leader after a 67, was in good shape to earn the last spot but finished with a 73 on the day and a 211 total for the tournament.
Troy Matteson of Georgia Tech took top East Regional honours with a three-round 201 to finish at 15 under.
There is a disappointing entry of only 24 players for the Midland District Women's Championship at The Heath this week.
Mary Dowling, runner-up to Lillian Behan, who is not defending, leads a field that could see one of the younger brigade get their name on the trophy.
Suzie Hayes is home from Notre Dame University and will be joined by the Delaney sisters Tara and Karen from Carlow.
