Lowry looks the likeliest lad

West of Ireland Championship: YOU KNOW it must be time for the West of Ireland Amateur Championship, the first "major" of the domestic season, when competitors are warned by the Connacht Branch of the GUI of inclement weather.

But then, what's new? In the past, players have had to battle with hailstones and gales in the quest for glory, and overcoming the weather, as much as the brutally tough Rosses Point course and stubborn opponents, is invariably the recipe for producing a worthy champion.

On this occasion, Shane Lowry, the reigning Irish Close champion, carries the mantle of favourite into a championship restricted (with a cut-off point of 0.5 on the handicap) to just 120 players, due to the lack of daylight given the early Easter.

Ireland's two Walker Cup players of last year are absent, with Rory McIlroy having turned professional and Jonathan Caldwell finishing his studies in the US.

But Lowry, a key member of Ireland's European winning team last year and who emerged undefeated from the Home Internationals, is expected to make a strong challenge for a championships sponsored by Radisson SAS Sligo.

He won't have it his own way, though. Nobody ever does at the West, on a course with a classic finishing stretch that is perfectly suited for matchplay.

Among Lowry's main rivals are likely to be other members of last year's Ireland team at the Home Internationals, including defending champion Joe Lyons, Cian Curley, Connor Doran, Simon Ward, Paul Cutler and Niall Kearney.

And over a dozen players from Britain add further weight to the entry.

Competitors will negotiate two rounds of strokeplay qualifying, today and tomorrow, with the leading 64 progressing to the matchplay, starting on Sunday.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times