Golf: The showers might have been periodic but the strong southeasterly wind that buffeted the Royal Dublin links proved unrelenting. Noel Fox mooched past the scoreboard on his way from the practice ground to the first tee, noting a couple of 73s posted on the master scoreboard.
Mummified against the elements, he considered one over par in the prevailing conditions would be the benchmark for the 120 players that teed it up yesterday in the opening round of the Irish Amateur Open Championship. A little over four hours later he stood beside the same board, a hint of a smile appearing from time to time as he modestly retraced a new course record, four-under-par 68.
The changes made to the ninth hole over the winter rendered existing records obsolete. He has managed better round the Bull Island links - twice shooting 66 - but yesterday's round provided a great deal of satisfaction. "Each good round is special for different reasons. I'm just happy I didn't leave much out there. I scored well today for a change. Usually I shoot 70 or 71 and kick myself for leaving stuff out there.
"That didn't happen. If I wanted to be really greedy, I could have played the 16th a little better."
The 29-year-old spread-eagled a high quality field, including seven other Walker Cup panellists; his nearest rival, the recent Duncan Putter Trophy winner, Welshman Stuart Manley, registered a superb one under 71.
Indeed there was an international hue to the leaderboard, Fox's presence aside. One shot adrift of Manley was fellow Welshman Nigel Edwards, South Africans Albert Kruger and Ross Wellington, England's Jamie Moul and Jamie Donaldson and Jamie McLeary of Scotland, all of whom shot level par 72.
Fox, winner of the title in 2000, demonstrated his prodigious hitting at the second, reducing the 490-yard par five to a drive and nine iron to two feet for an eagle three. The eighth, another par five (505 yards) yielded a birdie, the Irish international reducing it to the same drive, nine iron combination before taking two putts from 20 feet.
Three under at the turn, the journey home into the teeth of the wind was not for the faint hearted as was demonstrated emphatically at the 10th, along with the 18th the most difficult hole on the day, playing a full shot over par of four. Fox hit a drive and two iron, catching both a front bunker and an un-raked footprint before slipping to a bogey five.
He responded immediately with a birdie, a drive, three wood and punched six iron leaving him with a six foot putt. His new Odyssey two-ball putter employed for the first time last week at the Lytham Trophy last week completed the task.
The par five 14th yielded his final birdie, two woods and two putts from 20 feet, completing a remarkable sequence at the long holes and one that did not go unnoticed. "I think the key really was the par fives which I played in five under. It helped the cause."
For Manley it was something of a roller-coaster, pars akin to an endangered species on his card. He amassed six birdies, three bogeys and one double bogey. Albert Kruger, who shot 72, is a 20-year-old, plus three handicapper from Johannesburg and a member of the Ernie Els Foundation.
Irish players Stephen Moloney (Castletroy), Des Morgan (Mullingar), Michael Mulryan (Athenry), Michael McGeady (City of Derry) and Eddie McCormack were five shots off the leader on 73. Colm Moriarty shot a 74 but it proved a tough day for Birr's Justin Kehoe (80) and reigning Irish Close champion John McGinn (81).
West of Ireland winner, the Grange's Mark Ryan, fared slightly better with a 78. One noteworthy performance was that of 16-year-old Cian McNamara, winner of last year's R&A Junior Open championship, who shot a 76, all the more laudable after a bogey, double bogey finish.
68 - N Fox (Portmarnock).
71 - S Manley (Mountain Ash).
72 - N Edwards (Whitchurch), J Moul (Stoke by Nayland), R Wellington (Kyalami), J Donaldson (West Sussex), A Kruger (Krugersdorp), J McLeary (Leven).
73 - S Moloney (Castletroy), D Morgan (Mullingar), M Mulryan (Athenry), M McGeady (City of Derry), E McCormack (Slieve Russell), G Evans (Ealing).
74 - G Wardlow (Shandon Park), C Moriarty (Athlone), R McCarthy (The Island), D Morris (Limerick), G Bowden (Hermitage), T Cruz (Estoril), A O'Callaghan (Douglas), R Leonard (Banbridge).
75 - P Ring (Boycehill), R Caldwell (Sunningdale), J Foster (Ballyclare), N Campino (Ardeira), R Kakko (Finnish Golf Union).
76 - F Illouz (Morfontaine), G Massey (Hermitage), A McCormick (Scrabo), E Vernon (Burton on Trent), C McNamara (Limerick), M Korhonen (Finnish Golf Union), E Ramsay (Carnoustie).
77 - L Corfield (Burnham and Berrow), J Evans (Guildford), H Hanley (Grange), E Arthurs (Forrest Little), P Hendriksen (Churston), D Ryan (Grange), M Sinclair (Knock), S McParland (Greenore), A Ulivo (Finnish Golf Union), D Berry (West Bradford), F Flynn (L'town and B'town), C Montgomery (Malone), K Moore (Douglas Isle of Man).
78 - S Wallace (Preswick St. Cuthbert), S Caul (Malahide), A McAllister (Portmarnock), B Bunny (Southern), M Campbell (Stackstown), M Ryan (Grange), H Santos (Vilamoura), J Moore (Laytown and Bettystown), P Bradshaw (Gainsborough), A Dowling (Hermitage), D Gleeson (Old Conna).
79 - N Lavin (Royal Dublin), F Whelan (L'town and B'town), A Morrow (Portmarnock), J Hutchinson (Royal Dublin), L Owens (Royal Dublin), V Karhu (Finnish Golf Union), G Hall (Edenderry), D Crowe (Dunmurry), M Collins (Sutton), S Franklin (Athenry), M McDermott (Stackstown), C Housden (Channels), N Beggs (Bryanston).
80 - B Ugeux (Desert Willow), L Harpin (North Wales), J Kehoe (Birr), J Cunliffe (Dainfern), B McElhinney (North West), P Relecom (Royal Waterloo), R Forsythe (Hilton Templepatrick), M O'Sullivan (Galway), K Bornemann (Douglas), G Lynas (Shandon Park), P Erofeieff (Finnish Golf Union), P O'Keeffe (Douglas).
81 - T Sundstrom (Finnish Golf Union), L Ryan (Stackstown), R Santos (Vilamoura), T Kogler (Frauenthal), D Rawluk (The Island), C Cassidy (Portmarnock), M Murphy (Waterville), J McGinn (Greenore), R Cronin (Sussex), T Laitto (Finnish Golf Union), R Boal (Scrabo), S McVey (Banbridge), P Murray (Limerick), K Canty (Douglas).
82 - D Dunne (Royal Dublin), N Vowles (Burton-on-Trent), G O'Flaherty (Cork), J Lyons (Galway), P Purdy (Shandon Park).
83 - E Barton (Grange), R Williams (Baltinglass), S Crowe (Dunmurry), C Conaty (Royal Dublin), A Smith (The Island), B Trainor (Warrenpoint).
84 - J Mooney (Laytown and Bettystown), C Martin (Nenagh), D Moran (The Island).
85 - P Spargo (Victoria), T O'Mahony (Mallow), P McLaughlin (Ballyliffin), B Christie (Skerries).
86 - W Fox (Waterton Park).
87 - P Roos (Finnish Golf Union), R Maher (Nenagh).
DQ - E O'Sullivan (The Island), C Doran (Banbridge)
