Even in a warm morning sun, the presence of an Ireland selector wasn't welcomed by Arthur Pierse, given his position of two down to a current international. "Are you following me?" he asked Michael Burns who, somewhat bemused, responded by rambling off to another part of the Enniscrone links yesterday.
Of course the selector was watching Andrew McCormick, not Pierse. But the former Walker Cup player had the effrontery to beat not only McCormick, but another Ulster player, Chris Moriarty later in the day, to reach the last 16 of the West of Ireland Championship.
"I suppose at 48, I'm not meant to be doing this," said the Tipperaryman, who won this title at Rosses Point in 1980 and 1982. In the circumstances, survival was an achievement in itself, given the departure of the holder Noel Fox, leading qualifier Sean McTernan, four-time winner Garth McGimpsey and the 1992 champion Kenneth Kearney, all in the second round. Meanwhile, there is established quality in the three remaining Scandinavians. Norway's Maartin (stet) Strandvik had the distinction of beating Fox, though his task was eased considerably by some poor putting from the champion. As it happened, Fox three-putted at three crucial stages of the match.
It was clearly a cause of some concern to the Portmarnock international who has his sights set on a Walker Cup place at Nairn in September. "It's about three years since I've putted so badly," he said dejectedly. "Obviously I need to get the problem sorted out as quickly as possible."
Whatever about the merit of Strandvik's win over a wounded opponent, there was no denying the quality of Mikko Ilonen's 6 and 5 victory against Randall Evans of Moyola Park. This is the 19-year-old Finn who was second leading individual in the Eisenhower Trophy in Chile last autumn and was runner-up in the Spanish Amateur Championship in Seville two months ago.
Tall, slim and athletic, he possesses formidable power which he used to excellent effect against the hapless Ulsterman to be four under par for the 13 holes played. McGimpsey, whose four "West" victories were all at Rosses Point, fell to Stephen Moloney of Castletroy. , who confessed to being "shell-shocked" by the achievement of beating such a distinguished opponent. After taking the lead with a winning birdie at the long 12th, Moloney protected that slender advantage to the finish.
As had happened with Fox earlier in the afternoon, Kearney's putter was self-destructive. Still, there was considerable merit in the performance of Michael Jones, son of Bangor professional and PGA Cup skipper, David Jones. In fact the 23-year-old was three-under-par for the opening 10 holes, by which stage he was five up and set for victory.
Pierse's success was all the more welcome for the fact that he scraped through as the last of the 64 qualifiers. But his survival was not all that surprising to those who saw much of his old ball-striking skills, and a more relaxed putting stance. With his son, 11-year-old Arthur Jnr caddying for him, he squared the first-round match against McCormick with an exemplary four at the long 12th. From the left rough and with wind assistance, Pierse powered a 260-yard three-wood reminiscent of his glory days, to carry the cross bunker and set up a two-putt birdie.
Eventually, the match ended on the first tie hole, the 16th, where a par from Pierse was sufficient after McCormick sent his second into the hills on the left.Overall, the delightful conditions proved to be no protection against notable casualties. Still, the move from Easter to the May weekend ensured that the quality of play was decisive, rather than the unpredictable impact of hostile weather.
