129th Amateur Championship: Kennedy flies lone Irish flag at Ballyliffin – Golf News

Max Kennedy will carry Ireland's hopes into the last 32 of the 129th Amateur Championship at Ballyliffin Golf Club in Ireland.

On a bright and windy day over Glashedy Links, Kennedy was left as the last Irishman standing after a 3&2 victory over France's Oscar Couilleau in the opening round.

28 national hosting hopefuls started the week but only Kennedy and Sean Keeling made it through the qualifying rounds of the 36-hole playoff.

Keeling crashed out of the first round with a 5&3 loss to Lev Grinberg, the first Ukrainian golfer to reach the playoffs. But Kennedy continued in his quest to emulate the success of his countryman, James Sugrue, who won the title the last time the Amateur Championship was held on Irish soil, in Portmarnock, in 2019. The 22-year-old Dubliner made a two-hole advantage in the outer half.

Two crucial ups and downs, from tricky bunkers on 9 and 10 kept Couilleau out. These helped Kennedy set up a second-round duel with England's Charlie Forster, who knocked out Spain's European Amateur champion, Jose Luis Ballester Barrio, on the second hole.

Scotsman Connor Graham, the leading qualifier, was pushed back to 18thth by England's Mark Stockdale in the opening match of the day but held off his rivals with a 25-foot birdie putt on the last to win by one hole. Graham, whose Blairgowrie team-mate Bradley Neil won the Amateur Championship at Royal Portrush a decade ago, endured a wobble at the turn and took two to clear the bunker on 9.th before losing the ball on a wayward drive off the 10th tee. The 17-year-old Walker Cup player once again managed to hold his own, winning in a highly competitive match.

South African golfers have won the last two Amateur Championships and are hoping to break the triple crown with sole survivor Jordan Burnand, who beat Spain's Pablo Alperi Lopez 3&1. As well as trying to keep South Africa victorious, Burnand has another motivation this week. The 23-year-old celebrates his birthday on the eve of the final on Friday. 4 up through 11 holes, Burnand didn't have his best on the back-9 but the reigning South African Stroke Play champion cruised to victory in a nip-and-tuck encounter.

Walker Cup player Conor Gough, winner of the 2018 R&A Boys' Amateur Championship, underlined his playing ability with a 3&1 victory over Denmark's Jamie Tofte Nielsen. Fellow Englishman Oscar Lent enjoyed a 6&5 win over Asia-Pacific Amateur champion Jasper Stubbs of Australia, while there were first-round wins against Walker Cup players Calum Scott, James Ashfield and Jack Bigham.

Highlights of yesterday's match and the last two match days can be watched live R&A TV.

To view match play scores for The Amateur Championship click here.