Men's Amateur Team Championship: Justin Kehoe was on fire in the European Men's Amateur Team Championship over the Royal Hague course yesterday to take Ireland to the top of the leaderboard in the first qualifying round.
The 22-year-old Walker Cup hopeful from Birr produced a brilliant six-under-par 66 in tough conditions to equal the course record set just four hours earlier by Spain's Pablo Martin.
"I did a 66 in the Sherry Cup earlier in the year in Spain, but apart from that this is by far my best competitive round. I am really delighted and it of course boosts the team," said Kehoe.
Keogh got to the turn in 35 - two under par - and then canned a monster of a putt of around 70 feet at the 10th to move to three under. Six pars followed before Kehoe finished in sensational style, firing a seven-iron to 12 feet at the 17th for a birdie two and then hitting the par five 18th with two four-woods and rolling in a 12-foot putt for an eagle three.
"It was the finish that transformed the round from a good one to a great one," said Kehoe.
Brian McElhinney, who plays out of the North West Club, and Portmarnock's Noel Fox were also in splendid form completing their rounds in 69 - among the lowest scores of the day.
McElhinney, the 20-year-old Connacht Youths champion on his senior international debut, romped to the turn in 35, and kept calm on the homeward half to return a 69.
Fox, out in three-under-par 34 - came home in level par, recording six birdies, three bogeys and nine pars in his round.
The hugely-talented Walker Cup hopeful Colm Moriarty matched the par of 72 but felt it could have been much better. "I played really well on the front nine but then lost it badly," said Moriarty, who has enjoyed a successful season.
He holed putts of between 20 and 25 feet to save par at the 13th and 14th, and finished in style with a birdie four.
Ballyclare's Gareth Maybin recovered from a disastrous start to post a highly respectable 73. The 22-year-old South Alabama University student opened with a par followed by a triple-bogey seven, and then dropped a stroke at the third by three-putting to be four over after just three holes.
He then got his act together quite sensationally to play the remaining holes in three under par, which greatly impressed new Irish national coach Geoff Dixon.
"He kept going fantastically and showed tremendous self-determination," said Dixon.
Michael McGeady from City of Derry bogeyed the last four holes to hand in a lack-lustre 79 - and it was the score that Ireland discounted, making for an excellent five-out-of-six-card aggregate of 349 - 11 under par and one in front of Norway, but a staggering nine clear of third-placed Netherlands.
Both defending champions Scotland and England are in danger of not making the top flight for match-play.
Ireland's new captain, Mark Gannon, was naturally delighted but did not get carried away.
"It's been a great day but it is only the first day and there's a long way to go. But the players certainly did the business today. Now we must keep the momentum going."
FIRST QUALIFYING ROUND SCORES: 349 - Ireland (66 - J Kehoe, 69 - N Fox, B McElhinney 72 - C Moriarty 73 - G Maybin. Discounted 79 - M McGeady; 350 - Norway; 358 - Netherlands; 360 - Spain; 361 - Italy; 363 - Wales (69 - A Smith, 71 - N Edwards, 73 - S Manley, 75 - G Wright, 75 - C Smith. Discounted 76 - D Price); 364 - France; 366 - Sweden; 369 - Iceland; 371 - Austria, Slovenia; 372 - Scotland (71 - S Wilson, 73 - G Gordon, 75 - C Watson, 76 - D Inglis, 77 - J Doherty. Discounted 77 - A McArthur) and Portugal; 373 - England (73 - R Fisher, 73 - O Wilson, 74 - G Wolstenholme, 76 - R Finch, 77 - R Walker. Discounted 79 - J Lupton), Finland, Denmark; 374 - Germany; 376 - Belgium; 385 - Switzerland; 396 - Czech Republic.
