Surprise early exit for Gribben

This piece of terrain on Clare's west coast that borders the Atlantic can be a treacherous place, especially for aspiring champions. And it didn't take long for some of the big names in the South of Ireland Amateur Championship, sponsored by Irish Shell, to discover such a fate in yesterday's second round as, in the space of ten minutes, Paddy Gribben and Garth McGimpsey both departed the scene.

If, over the years, McGimpsey has found Lahinch a trying and unrewarding course (the South is the only provincial championship that has evaded his clutches) which perhaps made his exit less of a surprise than it might have been, the defeat of Gribben, considered a certainty for the Walker Cup in September, was totally unexpected.

Gribben, the current European strokeplay champion, was in the match immediately ahead of McGimpsey. Both finished on the 16th green, and both lost. Gribben's conqueror was Ray Hennessy, a 38-year-old father of three, who confessed to being little more than a "social golfer" these days.

There was a time, in 1983 and 1984, when Hennessy represented Munster in the Interprovincials. "Back then, golf was a higher priority than it is now," he said, "and to say that I am surprised to beat a man of Paddy's stature is a bit of an understatement."

Hennessy does know the Lahinch links intimately, however, and this week is competing in his 20th South. So, a par-birdie-par start was enough to give him a two hole advantage after three and he never allowed the Warrenpoint player to hit back in any meaningful way. The piece de resistance was a three iorn iron approach to three feet at the 16th which gave the Ennis clubman a 4 and 2 winning margin.

Meanwhile, McGimpsey's fate was also sealed early on. Danny Sugrue, a former boys' and youths' international, was two up after two holes after McGimpsey missed the first green right, exactly the place where you don't want to be, and then the 21-year-old Killarney player hit driver-four iron to ten feet for eagle at the next.

And, even when McGimpsey attempted a fightback of sorts with back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th, Sugrue responded in similar fashion to eventually win by 3 and 2.

There were a number of other surprises too, all of which is pretty much par for the course in the South. Eddie Power, a three-time Irish Close champion, bowed out in his first taste of combat, losing 2 and 1 to Michael Galvin, while Close finalist Michael Sinclair was another early casualty. David Dunne didn't even make it to the first tee - he was forced to concede a walk-over to Tipperary's Jon Murray due to injury.

Others had more comfortable advances into today's third round. Irish Close champion Ciaran McMonagle and Irish strokeplay champion Gary Cullen eased through, and Ken Kearney, winner of the East of Ireland, also booked his place in the last 64. Johnny Foster, the defending champion, demonstrated his liking for the links by winning his eighth straight matchplay encounter in the South. However, Michael Hoey, last year's Irish strokeplay champion, had the distinction of recording the day's biggest winning margin, a 7 and 6 win over local Padraig McInerney.