Smith and Mulholland Lead the Pack at Kilkeel Qualifiers

County Louth’s Deirdre Smith has once again proven her prowess on the green, securing the top spot in the Irish Senior Women’s Amateur Close stroke play qualifying at Kilkeel for the second consecutive year. Despite challenging conditions that made scoring difficult, Smith’s consistency saw her emerge as the leading qualifier.

The second day of play brought better weather, but the August sunshine created fast, tricky conditions on the fairways and greens. Smith navigated these challenges with skill, carding a +6 round of 80 to finish with a +8 total. Though she expressed some disappointment over her double bogeys on the 7th and 9th holes, her performance was strong enough to secure her top position once again.

Reflecting on her round, Smith noted, “I’m happy enough with the way I’m playing. It’s a brand-new game tomorrow, it’s match play, so it’s every hole and every shot. Today, you were trying to maybe not make mistakes too much. It’s such a tricky course, so tight, and the pins were difficult today.”

As the tournament transitions to match play, Smith is set to face Catherine Reilly of The Heath in the first match of the day. She is optimistic about the challenge ahead, eager to shift her focus from protecting her score to attacking the course.

On the men’s side, David Mulholland emerged as the leading scorer in the Senior Men’s Championship. Mulholland delivered a solid performance with an opening round of 71 on Tuesday, followed by a +3 round of 75, earning him the top spot in the qualifiers. He will face Tony Cleary from Spanish Point in the first match of the round of 16.

Reflecting on his success, Mulholland shared, “I’m delighted, not often that I’m the leading qualifier in anything, so I’m delighted to do that. There are holes that lend themselves to either layup or driver, and in stroke play, you have to protect the score. But tomorrow might be a wee bit different. I’ll stick to what I’m doing and see how it goes.”

Local Kilkeel golfer Frank Reilly also made an impression, using his course knowledge to card a +1 round, securing a spot in the last 16 of the men’s championship. Reilly, who topped the over-60 leaderboard with a final total of +4, credited his familiarity with the course for his strong performance.

“The greens are fantastic, the course is in really good condition, but they got faster and firmer as the day went on,” Reilly said. “It was an advantage for me today, being the local man on the course. Just fantastic to play on it.”

The stage is set for an exciting two days of match play at Kilkeel, with quarterfinals also lined up for the Irish Veteran Men’s Amateur Close Championship and the Irish Senior Women’s Amateur Close Plate.

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