Almost as if to underline the hazardous nature of qualifying, and to defy the tranquillity of the setting, the man - and a potential Walker Cup player at that - who had the hole-in-one missed the boat when the cut-and-thrust of the two strokeplay rounds concluded in the Irish Amateur Close Championship, sponsored by Bank of Ireland, at Killarney last evening.

Indeed, Noel Fox's inability to survive the cut (with the top 64 players progressing to the matchplay phase, which commences today) could ultimately prove costly. It certainly won't do any lingering Walker Cup prospects any good, and it may also mean his exclusion from the Irish team for the European Team Championships in Italy later in the month.

On a day when, in contrast, Paddy Gribben again impressed the watching Walker Cup selectors by taking the silver medal as leading qualifier, continuing the recent good form that saw him reach the quarter-final stage of the recent British Amateur Championship, it proved to be a rather disastrous experience for his fellow international Fox.

Although seven-over-par after eight holes, it seemed that things were set to turn around for the Portmarnock golfer when he chipped in for a birdie at the ninth and then holed out with a seven-iron tee-shot at the 10th.

"I was in danger of running out of golf balls after that," lamented Fox, explaining a horrendous run that saw him lose balls at the 12th, 14th and 16th holes en route to a second round 84 for 164, which meant he missed the cut far more comfortably than he would have liked.

He was the biggest casualty, but another notable failure was that of Co Sligo's David Dunne, who is also an international player.

The cut actually came on 15-over-par 159 with four players on that mark surviving into the match-play stage.

But one player who had no such concerns was Gribben, the 30-year-old Warrenpoint player who has experienced a remarkable year in which he has won the European Amateur Championship and was part of the four-man Britain and Ireland team which won the Eisenhower Trophy (world amateur championship) in Chile.

Last evening, Gribben added the distinction of leading the qualifiers in the Irish Close with rounds of 73-70 for one-under-par 143, the only player in the field to beat par on a course, in immaculate condition, which nevertheless played long and exacting.

Gribben finished a shot ahead of first round leader Michael O'Kelly of Limerick, with in-form Ken Kearney, winner of the East of Ireland last week, two shots further back.

There were some heroics, too, from another international, Eamonn Brady. The Royal Dublin player had a temperature of 102 degrees and had spent much of the previous night vomiting and wondering if he should play the second round. Yesterday, he couldn't even keep down water at one stage, but still shot a 75 for 148 to comfortably qualify.

Such a positive approach was shared by O'Kelly who had the audacity to birdie the sixth hole (the most difficult hole on the course) for the second day running.