Golf Digest: Ireland produced a series of steady performances to move into the quarter-finals of the European Youths Team Championship at San Roque in Cadiz, Spain, yesterday.
Impressive County Louth player Simon Ward and Shane Lowry from Esker Hills both continued their rich vein of form to post level par 72s, helping the Irish to a two-day qualifying score of 727, seven over par.
They had started their second rounds in a strong position and soon consolidated. It speaks volumes for the quality of the players that the highest score discounted on either of the days was a 76 from the reigning Close champion Rory McIlroy.
But with Gareth Shaw, Seamus Power and Aaron O'Callaghan all returning totals in the mid 70s, the Irish were safe.
In the European Boys Team Championship in Malmo, Sweden, Ireland were desperately unlucky to miss out on the top flight by just one shot when their superb second round total of 371, just eight over par, left them on a two-day total of 758, just behind the Netherlands who clinched the eighth spot.
It was Portstewart's Paul Cutler who laid the foundations for the Irish recovery, and he grabbed birdies at each of the last two holes to return a two-under-par 70.
He was well supported by Andrew Hogan and Niall Kearney, who returned scores of 74 and 75 respectively.
Meanwhile, despite a splendid, one-under-par 71 at the Golf Club de Pan, in Utrecht, Netherlands yesterday by recently-selected Curtis Cup player Tara Delaney, Ireland slipped out of contention for the women's European Under-21 Championship.
The 20-year-old from Carlow compiled halves of 33 and 38 to give the Irish some mid-afternoon hope.
But with five of the six cards counting on each day, the Irish aggregate was 772, which gave them a miserable 10th place some 16 strokes behind Wales, who occupied the eighth and last spot in the top flight.
Spain led by the proverbial mile, a remarkable 26 shots, from England and Sweden.
And the story was even worse in the Girls championship in Esbjerg, Denmark, where Ireland finished the two days of qualifying with only two countries behind them: Iceland and Latvia.
