Fortwilliam golfer Conor McErlane breezed through the qualifying event for the North of Ireland Amateur Championship as twenty two hopefuls booked their place in the tournament proper.
The qualifier took place at Galgorm Castle and McErlane topped the standings on five-under-par after a round of 67.
Playing in the morning groups, McErlane started fast with birdies on the third and fourth holes. Before a birdie two on the seventh and an eagle on the par-5 9th saw him roar to the turn in 31.
From there it was about keeping the disasters off the card. A birdie on the fifth saw him move to six-under and his only blemish was on the seventeenth but at that stage his place in Wednesday’s North of Ireland strokeplay in Portstewart was sealed.
Harry Fanagan, son of Walker Cup star Jody, shared second on four-under after a round of 68 while championship regulars James Hewitt of Tandragee and Ben Best secured their passage on one-under and one-over respectively.
Ten players were tied on two-over after eighteen holes of play meaning there was a playoff for the final three places between Eoin Rogers, Kevin Robinson, Jamie Anderson, Ross Nelson, Gavin Duffy, Freddie Bracken, Sam Inglis, Ryan Symington, Jack Galway and Paul O’Sullivan.
The three remaining spots went the way of Rogers (Ardee), Robinson (Castlewarden) and Anderson (Greystones).
Scoring HERE
