Eight of the best junior teams in Ireland were whittled down to just four in Warrenpoint with Royal Portrush and Belvoir Park setting up an all-Ulster Fred Daly semi-final on Wednesday morning.
Royal Portrush were the first to book their semi-final spot, but the reigning champions did not have it all their own way as a young Galway Bay side fought hard throughout.
Stars of 2023’s winning side Jensen Boyce and Luka Rogers got the Portrush side off to the perfect start, with Boyce notching up the first point on the board with a 5&4 win over Rory Gallagher before Rogers added a second, defeating Caelan Coleman 3&1.
The comeback looked on for Galway Bay though as Riley Stenson immediately answered back with a 5&4 victory over Patrick Morris before Mikie Grealy brought the sides level, sealing a 2&1 over Ollie McEvoy.
It was down to Galway Bay’s Dylan Smith and Royal Portrush’s Noah Beggs to decide the match, and neither could be separated as game four went all the way to the 18th hole.
A game so evenly matched ended in the cruellest of moments, Smith’s short-range putt catching the edge of the cup and lipping out for the Tribesmen, handing Beggs the 1up victory and Royal Portrush’s safe passage to the next round, a tension filled day for Captain Paul Rohdich.
“Galway fighting fit, they came back from one down against us and we didn’t think we were getting through. It was swaying towards Galway and the Galway crowd were well behind them. I have to thank their Captain Shane, a gentleman who wished us the best for the finals, so we are glad to be here. The course was great, in good condition, tough, bit of wind, thankfully no rain but obviously our guys are totally elated to be in, and we’ll give it our best tomorrow,” said Rohdich.
“It was very nerve wracking; I’ve lost the rest of my hair nearly. We’ll take it day by day, we’ll take it shot by shot we’re going to take it by the closest margin, we knew it was going to be tight and it certainly proved tighter than we wanted it to be. Galway put up a great fight and more power to them, they are quite young they are going to have their day as well in the future. It was well played on both sides. Happy to be through and looking forward to tomorrow morning now, gain a bit of momentum.”
Belvoir Park are set to meet Royal Portrush with the all-Ulster clash the first or tomorrow’s semi-finals as the Down boys claimed a 3.5 to 1.5 victory over Portmarnock.
The day though got off to a shaky start for Belvoir Park, Adam Fahey taking the first point for the Dublin side with a 2&1 victory over Evan Hogg before Garret Daly-Shaw steadied the ship and brought the sides level with a 6&5 win over Freddie Bracken. Buoyed by the Daly-Shaw win, Belvoir secured the all-important final two points as Eoin Burrows secured a 3&2 victory over John Moran before Jack Conroy sealed the deal, defeating Robert Burns 5&4.
Belvoir Park captain Mark Norton praised his side’s performance and is relishing the semi-final tie to come.
“Started off pretty strong, all the guys went off pretty well. The guys in the two, three and four spots, they were all pretty comfortable after nine. I know young Jack Conroy started off a little wobbly, he was a couple down after about four but then ended up winning 5&4 in the end so pretty steady in windy conditions,” said Norton.
“3.5 to 1.5 so happy with that and I know that a lot of the guys are friendly with the boys from Portrush, so it will be a good local rivalry in the semi-final.”
The second semi-final was set in the early afternoon as Ballybunion claimed a 4 to 1 victory over Clonmel before last year’s finalists, Greystones booked their spot, matching the scoreline of the Kerry side in their win over Edenderry.
The Boys’ Foursomes quarter finals were also down for decision today with Belvoir Park, Castlebar, Tramore and Blainroe securing their places in the final day.
Follow the action here