Denied some of the cream of amateur talent because of the clash with the European Individual Championship in Styrian, Austria, Mullingar golf club none-the-less imbued the first round of the Friends First Scratch Cup with their usual combination of vigour and enthusiasm.
Eyes subsequently settled on a number of the more established players with the lush parkland course not disappointing as the familiar name of Portmarnock's Adrian Morrow once again burned its way to the top of the leader board. Morrow followed his morning's 70 with a 68 to lead Ballyclare's Johnny Foster by one with Stackstown's Michael McDermott a shot further back.
Exhibiting a flourish at the par four 11th, the 47-year-old Morrow holed out his nine-iron approach from 129 yards for an eagle two and although bogeying the 13th finished the day without mishap. Given Morrow's vast experience, he should feel comfortable enough even with the University of Ulster politics graduate Foster showing enviable nerve.
"The course is not much different to when I won here in 1988. It's just in better condition now," said Morrow.
Foster, who admitted that he had not really figured in the competition in previous years made two crucial putts at the fifth and sixth yesterday afternoon to add a 71 to his morning's 68. Hitting a tree on the 186 yard par three, Foster flopped the ball over a run of samplings and sank the putt for par before again chipping out of a copse of mature trees on the par four sixth, hitting the green and dropping a 20 foot putt.
"Saving pars at those two holes stopped me from going backwards," said the Ulster player. "The key word today was patience." While Mitchelstown's Michael Barrett might have felt off the pace in the morning with a 76 his ten shot swing for 66, the best of the day, for an overall two under-par leaves him only four shots adrift. A bogey at the par three 15th was eclipsed by six birdies as Barrett went out in 32 and came back in 34.
Further down the field Beaverstown international Gary Cullen blew his chances with five bogeys and a double bogey on the par four 17th for fisrt first round 78 followed by a 73 in the evening. At 13 shots off the leader Cullen suffered the ignominy of missing the cut by a shot. His 151 total was just a stroke off making today's final two rounds.
Two other disappointments for varying reasons saw both the K Club's Tony Hayes and Mullingar's Ted Eighan leave the competition. Hayes was well in contention with a first round 73 and was one under after 10 holes on his second round when a back injury forced him to retire. Hayes, captains the Leinster team in the forthcoming interprovincial championships.
Fifty-four-year-old Eighan was disqualified after he innocently signed for a wrong score. To heighten his despair Eighan had shot a first round 69 before being disqualified for taking a drop from a staked tree at the third.
