At least the gale-lashed red flag on the beach down by the second hole offered a severe warning to any surfers or swimmers tempted to dip their toes into the towering waves of the Atlantic. Put simply, the sea was a no-go area. The same could not be said for the adjoining golf links.

For those players competing in the South of Ireland amateur championship over the Old Course, there was no respite from the wind, where oscillating golf balls on the greens and creative club selection added to the challenge on a links that hardly required any further degree of toughness.

And it was in such difficult conditions that Robert McCarthy, a 22-year-old Dubliner, advanced to the last-16 with a fourth-round win over defending champion Jim Carvill.

McCarthy, from The Island, has always had loads of talent. He played for Ireland at boys' and youth's international level, and has knocked on the door sufficiently at senior level - reaching the quarter-finals of the Irish Close twice, the West and the North (two weeks ago) - to suggest a capability not only to contend, but perhaps go on to claim a major title.

"You know, you get very few chances to win these things, and you've got to take them when the opportunity comes along," said McCarthy, showing the level of his intent after a 2 and 1 win that included chipping in from 20 yards for an eagle on the par five fourth that gave him an edge he never relinquished.

"It was a day to grind it out, to poke it around, and to keep control of the ball and to swing the club easily," he added.

With the gale whipping in over the course, to such an extent that the balls moved repeatedly on the greens, control wasn't always possible. To McCarthy's credit, whenever he did go askew, and he found greenside bunkers on no fewer than four occasions, his short-game rescued him. Indeed, on each of the times that he found sand, he managed to get up-and-down.

Carvill's reign ended with a 15-footer for par on the 17th which horse-shoed out, as if to typify that the gods were against him on this occasion.

"I've always enjoyed the South, but these conditions are not for me," remarked Carvill, who added that this would most likely be his last appearance in the championship due to his growing business commitments.

It was a tough old day for players on the links, with play borderline due to the moving balls. An indication of the severity of the wind was that the 424-yard sixth required a drive-six iron-three-iron approach (in Carvill's case), while most of the field could reach the downwind, 577-yard 12th with a wedge second shot. And the par three 11th, where the tee was moved forward 15 yards to reduce it to 156 yards, required a three-iron.

Simon Ward, of Co Louth, a beaten finalist to Rory McIlroy in the Irish Close, continued to show his good form with a comprehensive fourth round win over Eamonn Haugh, while North of Ireland champion Darren Crowe also advanced to the last-16 with a 3 and 2 win over Stephen Loftus. Jonathan Caldwell, a runner-up in the East of Ireland, also progressed with a 16th hole win over Mark Ryan, while Mark Campbell, the only previous South of Ireland champion left in the field, had a comfortable 5 and 4 win over Gavin Smyth.