British Amateur Championship: Shock results are common in matchplay, and yesterday's first game in the matchplay phase of the Amateur Championship at Royal Troon was no exception when David Inglis, the qualifying medallist and a hot favourite for Walker Cup selection, went out at the first extra hole to unfancied Peter Laws from Canada.
There were mixed fortunes for the Irish trio who had qualified. In game number 10, Gareth Maybin was up against former England Boy International Adam Stott, but the Ballyclare man won comfortably 4 and 3.
There was never much doubt who the winner was going to be after Maybin had won the second with a solid par, and then took the fourth with another par after Stott had been in all sorts of trouble.
Birdie fours were exchanged at the sixth, with Maybin holing from three feet, and this was the forerunner of some incredible iron play from the South Alabama College man as, at the next two holes, his approach shots were so close to the pin that the birdies were conceded. Four up after eight, Maybin cruised home an easy winner.
Later in the day, Colm Moriarty was up against New Zealand's Brad Shilton, and the game went all the way to the 18th where Moriarty had the luxury of two putts for the match, which he took.
Two down after six, the Athlone man fought back with three straight birdies from the seventh to go one up at the turn, and was two up after the 11th, only to lose 15 and 16. A superb tee-shot at 17 which finished beside the stick put him back in front and the half he needed was duly obtained.
"I'm playing pretty well but I just need to get a bit more confident off the tee, so I'm going to the range to hit a few balls," said Moriarty.
But there was disappointment for Andrew Lynch, the captain of the Sterling University team, who described his game as "in the bushes, in the rough, pretty poor golf really", and who went out by 3 and 2 to Switzerland's Raphael De Sousa.
Moriarty is up against Woburn Golf Club's Stephen Lewton this morning at 9.10, with a further round in the afternoon should he be successful, while Maybin faces Scot Andrew McArthur, who has had six wins on the US second division college circuit this season.
