Teenage kicks: LeBlanc into last eight at Spanish Amateur
Kevin LeBlanc at the 2015 Irish Amateur Open, where he finished tied third. Picture: Pat Cashman
The Island's Kevin LeBlanc is through to Saturday morning's quarter-finals of the Spanish Amateur Open at El Saler near Valencia.
The Maynooth University player beat Frenchman Arthur Ameil-Planchin by 3 and 2 in the first round, then crushed last year's Lytham Trophy winner, Alfie Plant of England by an impressive 6 and 5 in the afternoon.
"I played unreal today - just kept making birdies," said Leblanc, whose love for the greens was evident when he birdie five of the first eight to leave Plant stunned.
The sole Irish survivor, 18-year-old LeBlanc will meet Spanish champion Angel Hidalgo in the last eight.
The 2014 Junior Open winner, LeBlanc is bidding to become the fifth Irish winner of the title after Philip Walton (Torrequebrada, 1981), Michael Quirke (Aloha, 1987), Darren Clarke (El Saler, 1990) and Reeve Whitson (La Manga Club, 2013)
He was one of four Irish players from a 14-strong entry to make the 32 who got through the 36-hole strokeplay qualifier for the matchplay stages.
Knock's Colin Fairweather was beaten one up by the promising English player Marco Penge, who also won in the afternoon and now meets Harry Goddard in the last eight.
Tullamore's Stuart Grehan and Galway's Ronan Mullarney met in a fratricidal clash of Maynooth University players in the first round.
Grehan won comfortably by 6 and 4 but, ironically, fell to the 2015 Munster Under 16 champion, the Barcelona star Eduard Rousaud, by 7 and 6.
Just having my 3rd spaghetti bolognese today..class🍝 #carbcentral
— KLB™ (@KLB1998) March 3, 2017
Rousaud showed his talent in Clonmel two years ago, firing a seven-under-par course record 64 to win by three shots from Mallow's Edward Walsh.
The Catalan player will now face the Dutchman Pierre Verlaar with the winner facing Penge or Goddard.
On the other side of the draw, the winner of the LeBlanc-Hidalgo clash will meet the winner of the match between Welshman Jack Davidson and Barcelona's David Puig.
