Golf: On a day when there was precious little cheer from an Irish perspective the loudest applause was reserved for local member Heather Nolan.
In the first two rounds of the of the Fáilte Ireland sponsored, European Amateur Ladies Strokeplay Championship at Shannon Golf Club, the 19-year-old Eastern Michigan University student had driven out of bounds.
An honorary life member at Shannon, she could never before recall a similar fate at the first hole prior to the start of the tournament.
Yesterday she betrayed no signs of anxiety as she swept her tee shot down the centre of the fairway: it provided the central topic of conversation in the clubhouse for hours afterwards.
Nolan had spent time on Thursday evening ironing out a technical glitch with her coach and Shannon professional Artie Pyke. She smiled: "I wasn't nervous because I felt much better after the work I'd done with my coach."
Not even a bogey at the second when she failed to get up and down having missed the green could dampen her enthusiasm. She recorded birdies at the fifth and seventh, holing putts from four feet and 20, before conceding a shot to the course at the ninth, when she played a little ping-pong with the trees.
Timber trouble on the inward journey was reflected in a four-over-par 76, but it was still one of the batter scores on the day. "It was very difficult to judge the wind which was swirling a great deal and that contributed to a couple of the bogeys. It's very hard to judge when you're initially sheltered by the trees. It wasn't the prevailing wind so local knowledge wasn't that much of a factor."
The Irish international also pointed to greens that had hardened appreciably with no rain until a smattering of showers yesterday, rendering them less yielding than before.
The elements certainly tested the competitors and for many it proved a trying afternoon, notably the Irish challenge of Claire Coughlan and Tricia Mangan. Coughlan started the day at level par but slipped to an 80 that leaves her eight shots behind the leader, England's Sophie Walker.
Mangan bogeyed the second and the fourth and thereafter appeared to lose a little rhythm. She won't have been happy with her wedge play as she succumbed to a nine over 82 that dropped her out of the top 35.
Despite her travails she did meet one fan on her travels, a local fox who hangs out between the eight green and ninth tee. As the Irish international munched away on an energy bar while waiting on the ninth tee, the fox marched boldly over and jumped up looking for a slice of the action.
Unfortunately there was none left so he headed for the packet of Jaffa Cakes that Welsh girl and defending champion Beck Brewerton was trying to get back into her bag.
Brewerton's 76 leaves her eight behind the leader with today's final holes to come. Even for a player of her calibre it would take a monumental effort as there are too many players in between.
The 19-year-old Walker shot a one-over-par 74 to lead by a single stroke from France's Sophie Giquel (73) with the latter's compatriot, Virginie Beauchet (75) one shot further adrift.
The English girl turned in one under but a bogey on the 14th when she overhit the green and another on the 17th when she missed right with a five iron and failed to get up and down arrested that momentum.
Walker is bidding to become the first English girl since Joanne Morley in 1992 to win the English Ladies Amateur and European Ladies Amateur Strokeplay titles in the same season. She is due to win her first England senior cap at the Home Internationals in a fortnight's time and this would be a timely confidence boost ahead of that debut.
Last year's runner-up Dewi-Claire Schrefeel of the Netherlands shot the round of the day, a superb two-under-par 71, and just three shots back will consider that a repeat performance could be good enough to claim the title. In all there are 10 ladies within five shots of Walker, so the issue is far from decided.
