GOLF IRISH CLOSE CHAMPIONSHIPCIAN CURLEY had a pretty easy afternoon at Belvoir Park yesterday as he dismissed the challenge of Knock's Michael Sinclair by 5 and 4 in the quarter-finals of the Golfsure Irish Amateur Close Championship to book a date this morning against his friend Dara Lernihan.
A hat-trick of birdies from the seventh hole was the foundation of Curley's canter against the former international. A sand-wedge to three feet at the seventh, a nine- iron to 12 feet at the short eighth and a six-iron to the fringe at the long ninth set-up the birdie barrage as he turned four holes ahead.
The Maynooth undergraduate went five up on par at the 10th but slipped back with bogey at the next hole.
However, that only postponed the inevitable as Curley (22), a Newlands' plus-two handicapper who has finished his first year of study, finished the battle at the short 14th with another par as Sinclair missed the green again.
"I have given myself a chance of reaching the final again, the same as last year in Cork.
"I hope I have better luck this time as I lost 12 months ago in the last four to Niall Turner," said Curley.
Lernihan had a more difficult time in ousting David Rawluck as the match went to the 19th. The winner had been two up after 16 holes but Rawluck, from The Island, hit back to send the game into extra-time.
Both were in sand off the 19th tee but the winner hit a marvellous bunker shot to five feet, while Rawluck went through the green. He played back to a couple of feet but Lernihan, the Leinster youths' champion for the past two years, holed for birdie.
The other semi-final will feature towering Andrew McCormick from Scrabo and jockey-sized Paul O'Hanlon from The Curragh as they set up a rematch having previously met in the semi-finals in the West of Ireland Championship two years ago.
O'Hanlon won that clash by steering a lob wedge to six inches for birdie at the 18th and a one-hole win.
Yesterday, in the third round, scratch player McCormick beat West Waterford's Séamus Power 3 and 2 and then polished off giant-killer Paul McNamara 4 and 3 after turning three-up, having carded a remarkable eagle at the ninth.
He shied his drive off the ninth tee on to the 13th fairway but played a superb five-iron blind shot over 80ft-high pine trees to 20 feet from the ninth flag and rolled home the putt for eagle three.
Curragh plus-three handicapper O'Hanlon, who beat Connor Doran on the final green in the morning, had a rather easy 4 and 2 afternoon win over international Niall Kearney, in what was essentially par golf most of the way.
He turned one up after winning the ninth hole in regulation but lost the 10th to par. He then won the 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th to end the match.
