6 days ago
Doyle and Fahey keep up bid for Boys title at Baltray
John Doyle and Adam Fahey maintained hopes of a home win in the Boys' Amateur Championship at County Louth on the opening day of matchplay.
Doyle, a member of Fota Island, needed 20 holes to see of Japan's Kinjaro Kato. No Irish player has won the Boys' title since 1986.
Doyle, 17, has already won the Munster Strokeplay and Irish Boys this season, and made his senior international debut for Ireland at the European Team Championships in Killarney and the Home Internationals.
Doyle will now take on Filip Grave of Sweden in the second round. Grave enjoyed a 4&3 victory over England's Samuel Marshall in his first-round match.
Fahey, a former junior club member at Baltray, eased to a 6&5 victory over Scotland's Finlay Galloway.
Fahey, now a member of Portmarnock, was one down after two holes despite starting the first round match with a par at the opening hole and a birdie at the second.
However, recent Scottish Boy's Amateur Championship winner Galloway eagled the second to draw first blood. That's when Fahey shifted into a higher gear.
'I birdied the next hole and then was three-under-par after six and two up, which gave me momentum,' Fahey said. 'I was bogey free today and that's always good in match play. I was four under out there, and Finlay had a few bogeys which helped.
'I had to play well because he's a great player. I played with him in Europeans (European Boys' Team Championship) and I know what he's capable of, especially in match play because I knew he just won the Scottish Boys'.
'I just said to myself keep it simple and play solid golf and I did that very well today. It was just fairways and greens. If I can stick to my game plan of keeping it in play and making no bogeys then I should have a chance of going far.'
Fahey now faces Mikulas Vojtesek in round two. The Czech Republic player is 459th on the World Amateur Golf Ranking, 2,656 places above Fahey.
Kris Kim's dream of winning a second championship is on course after he eased to a 5&3 victory over Sweden's Melker Bohlin to book his place in the second round.
Joint leading qualifier Callixte Alzas of France is also through to the next round following a two-hole victory over England's Harry Cox.
Welsh dreams of a first title since Rhys Davies won the 2003 title reside with Deon Regan, who beat Clandeboye's member Harry O'Hara 3&2.
In the Girls Amateur at Conwy, Wales, Royal Portrush's Hannah Lee-McNamara swept aside France's Manon Petitcolas. 'Five birdies and no bogeys so I'm very happy,' said the reigning Irish Girls' Stroke Play champion of her 6&4 triumph.
Lee-McNamara, the only Irish player left in the draw, didn't enjoy the most comfortable of qualifying campaigns but with the strokeplay shackles off, she is now playing with attacking abandon.
'I qualified with a shot to spare, but I had a four-footer on the 18th which I was shaking over as I thought I needed to hole it to get in,' reflected Lee-McNamara, who was runner-up in the R&A's Girls' U16 Amateur Championship earlier this season.
'Once you qualify it frees you up. I love playing match play golf as I can be so aggressive.'
