British Boys and Girls: Dublin teenager Niall Kearney will long remember a short putt he missed on Royal Aberdeen's 15th hole yesterday on his way to defeat in the fifth round of the Boys British Open Amateur Championship.

Having played some immaculate golf around the greens for more than three days, Kearney (18) failed with a four-footer at a crucial time when he was one up against Lancashire's Sam Stuart.

He lost the hole, and obviously rattled by that uncharacteristic lapse lost the 16th to fall behind.

Following halves at the penultimate hole there was a glimmer of hope for Kearney from the Royal Dublin club at the last where he was well placed on the green for two while his rival's ball rolled off the putting surface for some 25 feet.

But Stuart played a superb chip virtually stone dead and Kearney did not manage to hole his putt of around seven yards and it was all over.

"It was a great game. I just let it slip, but then that's golf," said Kearney who is soon off to East Tennessee State University.

Earlier in the day Paul O'Kane from Moyola Park went down 3 and 1 to Scottish international Ross Kellett.

O'Kane, a semi-finalist in the Irish Close championship, was twice in front but crucially lost the 15th and 16th holes.

•GIRLS: Hopes of a home victory in the Girls British Open Amateur Championship at Portstewart today were dashed when Stephanie Meadow bowed out in the third round of the matchplay event.

The 17-year-old Irish girls' champion from Royal Portrush was beaten 2 and 1 by French teenager Marion Bernard.

But Northern Ireland golf fans could witness history today as the hugely-talented Spaniard Belen Mozo attempts to become the first player to win both the Ladies British Open Amateur Championship and the girls' title in the same year.

This morning Mozo tackles German Valerie Sternebeck, while 15-year-old Sally Watson from Queensferry in Scotland meets Thailand's Junthima Gulyanamitta.