Ken Kearney displayed a short game that was a joy to behold at Westport yesterday and it played a major role in crowning the 29-year-old Co Sligo man Irish amateur close champion after the Bank of Ireland-sponsored final in which he beat the holder Peter Lawrie by 5 and 4. This was a majestic display by Kearney whose overall game was sound as a rock. He lost just one hole in the match and had only 20 putts for the 14 holes played - 12 of those on the front nine.

Kearney continued his sub-par performances of earlier in the week and was four under this time, with Lawrie only one over, but the Newlands man had to scramble on occasions as he hit only two fairways on the front nine. Indeed, Lawrie gave an indication of what was to come when he drove into trees at the second hole and could only hack out, allowing Kearney to grab the initiative by winning the hole in a par four. He then stormed away with five birdies in a row, the second of them matched by Lawrie for his only birdie of the day.

Five up with only seven holes played, Kearney was coasting and Lawrie's crown was already badly tilted, It got no better as the new champion continued to lower putts from all distances with the only slight hiccup in his game being at the 11th where he found a bunker on the right of the hilltop green and failed to get up and down in regulation. That was the only respite in the whole game for Lawrie - the only hole he won.

But it was short-lived hope for the 23-year-old Lawrie. The short 13th was crucial and all but ended the argument. Kearney was 35 yards wide of the green and almost out of bounds but pitched back 15 feet past the flag and holed the return putt for a vital half. He got up and down from sand to win the next hole as Lawrie's putt scrapped the hole, something that happened him on a number of occasions. It all ended with a half in par at the next.

"It was a putter I got the loan of from my Co Sligo colleague Tom Ford that did the trick for me," said Kearney. "I also got some tuition from Paul Cuddy and I felt very confident on the greens."

Both semi-finals were one-sided affairs with Lawrie beating Paddy Gribben by 4 and 3 and finishing one under par. The defending champion birdied three of the first four holes and was four up after six to establish total authority. From that point he was never in danger of losing his grip on the game despite the great form of Gribben up to the semi-finals.

Putting had been Gribben's strong point throughout the championship but he failed on the greens in this tussle. Lawrie bogeyed the 9th and 11th but that was only a mild setback.

In the other semi-final, Kearney demolished the challenge of Sean Quinlivan by 6 and 5 after getting off to a good start by winning the first two holes. In fact, the second set the tone of the match as Kearney drove into sand and Quinlivan refused to make use of the opportunity by driving into trees.

Kearney finished the one-sided battle at four-under-par having made four birdies and never conceding a stroke to the course.

Semi-finals - P Lawrie (Newlands) bt P Gribben (Warrenpoint) 4 and 3; K Kearney (Co Sligo) bt S Quinlivan (Ballybunion) 6 and 5; final - Kearney bt Lawrie 5 and 4.