POWER-HITTING and quiet sportsmanship dominated a fascinating stage of the Ulster Bank sponsored West of Ireland Championship at Enniscrone yesterday. And by the end of play, Paddy Gribben had came through the top quarter for a semi final meeting with Bryan Omelia, while Andrew McCormick earned a clash with Jody Fanagan in the bottom half.
From a golfing standpoint, conditions were even more hostile than on the previous days. Gale force winds brought the green at the 368 yard 14th within range of the long hitters but this was no more than compensation for the demands of the outward journey.
Overall, a fine links presented a worthy test of skill and fortitude. It also provided the veteran Hugh Mackeown with a stage for his enduring skills, even if he departed the scene before lunch in an 18th hole third round defeat by, Fanagan.
The first example of Fanagan's sportsmanship came at the seventh hole of this match. By that stage, Mackeown was mentally prepared for the prospect of going four down, when the Milltown player informed him he had accidentally double hit a chip from behind the green. "I had no idea it had happened," said the Corkman.
From there, the 55 year old rallied admirably to take the match all the way. And though he made no mention of it afterwards, Mackeown's concentration during the climactic moments couldn't have been helped by the proximity of two stray dogs.
Initially, they distracted him as he faced a difficult, 50 foot approach putt. And while be attempted to hole a return five footer to save the match, they reappeared to engage in a battle royal close by. In the event, the putt slipped past the target and Fanagan was through.
Fanagan then fought a splendid battle with the former champion Kenneth Kearney, before securing the match with a birdie on the 21st. Again he called a penalty on himself. It happened on the ninth this time, at which stage the match was all square.
With two balls in his pocket, he inadvertently replaced the wrong one after marking on the green. He immediately told his opponent, then the referee, with the inevitable consequence that Kearney went one up. When I mentioned the two incidents to him afterwards, Fanagan simply shrugged his shoulders and said: "That's golf. That's the game."
Ultimately, sudden death came as an immense relief to Kearney, given his position of two down with two to play. He sank a 10 footer to win the 17th in par after they had both missed the green and another 10 footer gave him the 18th, which Fanagan three putted.
Eventually, after they had been in action for four hours forty five minutes, the end came at the 21st. This meant that they played the 16th, 17th and 18th again, given that these are considered to be the most suitable play off holes here, because of the layout of the course.
As it happened, Fanagan finished with a flourish. With a seven iron approach of 146 yards into a cross wind, he left the ball 12 feet from the target and proceeded to sink the putt. So, the notion that Kearney does best when the West is not played at Rosses Point at Easter, didn't hold true. It will be recalled that his, victory in 1992 was achieved when the event was postponed until late August.
Omelia provided the power play. His more spectacular efforts came from a titanium, Great Big Bertha driver, which he borrowed last week from East of Ireland champion Noel Fox. And ones could readily understand Omelia's insistence last night that "he's not getting it back."
In the afternoon's match against Co Sligo member David Dunne, spectators were left gasping at Omelia's play of the 540 yard 12th hole. Even allowing for wind assistance, the idea of reducing it to a drive (370 yards) and an eight iron (170) was difficult to grasp.
To place the wind strength into perspective, the Newlands player reached the green at the 551 yard first with a drive, three iron and seven iron, directly into the elements. And the 535 yard second in the same direction became a three wood, three wood and sandwedge.
"I tend to be long," grinned Omelia, who added - needlessly, one felt - that he found it necessary to use the driver only three times during the qualifying rounds. As it happened, Dunne made the task easier yesterday afternoon by driving out of bounds at the first and, crucially, by three putting the 11th to go three down at that stage.
Runner up to Michael McGinley in the North of Ireland last July, Omelia is still awaiting a championship breakthrough at senior level. So is Gribben, who caused Limerick's Michael O'Kelly to seriously question a well loved biblical promise.
As the last of the 64 qualifiers, O'Kelly would have hoped to be first. . . Instead, he lost on the 18th because of an indifferent tee shot which left the green out of range in two. Gribben, meanwhile, two putted from the fringe for a match winning par.
The Ulsterman, who is back in championship golf after three years as a professional, was two down after 11 to the 1993 South of Ireland runner up. His comeback started at the long 12th where, ironically, it took him four strokes to get within five feet of the target, whereas O'Kelly was 12 feet away in three.
Neutral observers expected O'Kelly to increase his lead. Instead, he three putted to lose the hole to Gribben's par. And the Ulsterman went on to draw level at the next before taking the lead with a birdie three at the 14th, where he recovered from a greenside trap to 30 feet and sank the putt. Eventually, the match went all the way when O'Kelly levelled with a conceded par at the 16th.
Fanagan's opponent will be another Ulster player - 22 year year Andrew McCormick, a former youth international from Scrabo. An all Ulster clash in the quarter finals saw McCormick take an early lead against John Callan of Strabane, winning the first three holes in par figures.
A quarter finalist in this championship two years ago, he was also three up after nine. Content to allow his opponent make mistakes, McCormick displayed maturity beyond his years by coaxing steady pars from the elements. Which is how he finished the match on the 15th.
