South of Ireland Championship: If you're going to lose holes in matchplay, do it early. Even so, the mountain Shane Lowry, an Irish youth international, left himself to climb in the second round of the South of Ireland amateur championship here yesterday when he lost the first six holes to Alan Meskell was like climbing Everest without oxygen, ice axes or crampons.

To his credit, Lowry, the teenage son of former Offaly footballer Brendan, accomplished the feat of survival, battling back to claim a 2 and 1 victory and, rather boldly, proclaim: "I think I can go on to win this week, even though every match is going to be tough."

On a day when a stiff wind whipped in off the Atlantic, making conditions difficult but still nowhere near as tough as Saturday's first round which was on the verge of being suspended, Lowry's recovery was remarkable. The 19-year-old plus-three handicapper, who plays out of Esker Hills, attributed his early-round problems to a "couple of bad breaks", but he showed his resilience with a sequence of par-par-birdie-par from the seventh to win four holes in a row to be only two down.

From there on, the momentum was with Lowry. He won the long 12th with birdie, hitting a drive and wedge approach to a greenside bunker before getting up and down, and then levelled the match by winning the 13th in par. When he won the 14th, his seventh win in eight holes, Lowry was up for the first time. "I knew I had a grip on the match then," he claimed.

In fact, Lowry lost the 15th, but regained the initiative by winning the 16th and then closed out the match on the 17th.

Of the six-hole deficit, Lowry remarked, "I knew if I got a couple of holes back, then I'd have a chance. I'd nothing to lose."

While Lowry's impressive fightback was further indication of his immense talent, there was also evidence that Jim Carvill, the defending champion, wouldn't relinquish his title without a fight. Carvill took early command of his second-round match with Muskerry's David O'Donovan, admitting the "golf was good".

Carvill birdied the ninth to go three-up, but had some anxious moments when he lost the 12th and 13th holes. But the veteran Ulsterman responded by winning the 14th in par to regain a two-hole advantage, which he kept, finishing the match on the 17th.

With Irish Close and West of Ireland champion Rory McIlroy unavailable to play this week, and East of Ireland champion Brendan McCarroll forced to withdraw late on Saturday evening because he was unwell, the only player in the field with a "major" win this season is Darren Crowe, the winner of the North of Ireland championship. And, despite trailing early on his match with Kilkenny's Graham Nugent, Crowe emerged as a 2 and 1 winner.

Elsewhere, Brendan Walton, the 19-year-old nephew of tour player Philip, seemed to be coasting in his match with ex-Shamrock Rovers footballer Stephen Grant.

The Island and UCD player was five-up after seven holes, but was gradually pulled back and Grant levelled affairs by winning the 18th. But Walton had the final say, getting up and down for a birdie four to win at the 20th.