Gavin Moynihan bowed out of the Amateur Championship at Carnoustie this morning after defeat by Frenchman Alexandere Daydou in the last 32 - which also ended Irish involvement in the competition for another year.
The Walker Cup star, who plays out of The Island, had got through his first match-play round with victory over Tom Gandy of Rowany on Wednesday, but was no match for Daydou as his hopes of reaching the latter stages were dashed following a 4&3 reverse.
The Dubliner trailed from the first hole, which he bogeyed, before his French opponent - winner of the Italian International Amateur Stroke Play title back in March - quickly extended that advantage to three-up with birdies on the third and fifth holes.
It was soon to get worse for the former Irish Amateur Open Champion after he then made a mess of the seventh and was forced to concede to fall four behind but, to his credit, he then launched a stirring fightback.
A birdie for Moynihan on the eighth - followed by a Daydou bogey on the ninth - cut the deficit to two at the turn.
And hopes of a stunning comeback for the Irishman were raised further when a birdie on the par-five 508-yard 12th hole - the second longest on the course - saw him pull to within one hole.
However, there was to be no fairy tale ending for Moynihan, who then bogeyed the 13th before Daydou closed out proceedings with successive birdies on the 14th and 15th to reach the last 16.
