Rafferty shines at Lytham Trophy; just one Irish international makes cut
The 18th green and the clubhouse at Royal Lytham & St Annes
If Caolan Raffery goes on to win an Irish cap this year he may look back at this week's Lytham Trophy as a turning point.
The Dundalk man has not even found it easy to break into the Leinster team but having show form by reaching the quarter-finals of the "West" at Easter, he continued to shine by leading a trio of Irish players into the final day at Royal Lytham and St Annes.
Rafferty added a 71 to his opening 76 to share fifth place on seven-over par, six shots behind Jeff Wright (74 67) and overnight leader Jack Singh-Brar (68 73) as 16 of Ieland's 19 hopefuls missed the cut.
Just one of Ireland's current international team made cut for the top 40 and ties — Masserreene's Tiarnan McLarnon with one to spare after rounds of 78 and 73.
Portmarnock's Geoff Lenehan, who like Rafferty has a game with international potential, was less than delighted with a second successive 76 given the easing in the conditions.
Still, he made the cut for the top 40 and ties on the 12-over 152 limit as Jack Pierse (79 74), Stuart Grehan (79 74) and Eugene Smith (74 79) missed out by one shot on 153
Grehan's fellow Walker Cup panellists Alex Gleeson (82 72, 154), Colm Campbell (79 77, 156), Conor O'Rourke (79 78, 157) and Robin Dawson (83 76, 159) where also left to wonder what might have been had they fared better on Friday, when the CSS was 79.
How the Irish fared at Royal Lytham & St Annes
Leaders - 141 Jeff Wright (Forres Golf Club) 74 67, Jack Singh-Brar (Remedy Oak Golf Club) 68 73
147 Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk Golf Club) 76 71
151 Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene Golf Club) 78 73
152 Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock) 76 76
Cut
153 Jack Pierse (Portmarnock Golf Club) 79 74, Stuart Grehan (Tullamore Golf Club) 79 74, Eugene Smith (Laytown & Bettystown) 74 79
154 Alex Gleeson (Castle Golf Club) 82 72, Jonathan Yates (Naas Golf Club) 81 73, Kevin LeBlanc (The Island Golf Club) 79 75, Thomas Mulligan (Laytown & Bettystown) 77 77,
155 Mark Power (Kilkenny Golf Club) 84 71
156 Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint Golf Club) 79 77,
157 Conor O'Rourke (Naas Golf Club) 79 78, Colin Fairweather (Knock Golf Club) 79 78,
158 John-Ross Galbraith (Whitehead Golf Club) 82 76, Jake Whelan (Newlands Golf Club) 81 77,
159 Robin Dawson (Tramore Golf Club) 83 76, Eanna Griffin (Waterford) 81 78,
172 John Murphy (Kinsale) 85 87
Lytham Trophy, Royal Lytham & St Annes (Par 70)
141 Jeff Wright (Forres Golf Club) 74 67, Jack Singh-Brar (Remedy Oak Golf Club) 68 73
144 Simon Richardson (Spalding Golf Club) 75 69
146 Charlie Strickland (Ham Manor Golf Club) 73 73
147 Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk Golf Club) 76 71, Jake Burnage (Saunton Golf Club) 76 71, Andrew Wilson (Wynyard Golf Club) 76 71, Josh Hilleard (Farrington Golf Club) 75 72
148 Tom Sloman (Taunton & Pickeridge Golf Club) 78 70, Ben Hutchinson (Howley Hall Golf Club) 77 71, Liam Johnston (Dumfries & County Golf Club) 74 74
149 Jack Davidson (Llanwern Golf Club) 79 70, Daniel Brown (Masham Golf Club) 78 71, Llew Matthews (Southerndown Golf Club) 78 71, Loris Schuepbach (Switzerland) 76 73, Robert MacIntyre (Glencruitten Golf Club) 76 73, Michael Hirmer (Germany) 76 73, Pierre Junior Verlaar (Netherlands) 76 73, Matthew Clark (Kilmacolm Golf Club) 70 79
150 Robert Foley (Switzerland) 80 70, Kieron Harman (Southerndown Golf Club) 77 73, Mitch Waite (Filton Golf Club) 77 73, Owen Edwards (Kendleshire Golf Club (The)) 76 74, Sam Done (Kenwick Park Golf Club) 76 74, John Carroll (Huyton & Prescot Golf Club) 76 74
151 Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene Golf Club) 78 73, George Bloor (Cavendish Golf Club) 78 73, Callan Barrow (Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club) 77 74, Claudio Consul (Germany) 77 74, Ben Chamberlain (Padeswood & Buckley Golf Club) 76 75, William Whiteoak (Shipley Golf Club) 74 77, Jamie Stewart (Old Course Ranfurly Golf Club Ltd) 74 77
152 Thomas Gandy (Rowany Golf Club) 79 73, Joshua Mcmahon (Wallasey Golf Club) 79 73, Philip Geerts (Italy) 79 73, Gian-Marco Petrozzi (Trentham Golf Club) 78 74, David Boote (Walton Heath Golf Club (New Course) 76 76, Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock) 76 76 , Todd Clements (Braintree Golf Club) 76 76 , Alasdair McDougall (Elderslie Golf Club) 75 77, Matthew Jordan (Royal Liverpool Golf Club) 75 77, Cameron Long (Burton-on-Trent Golf Club) 74 78
Cut
153 Gerold Folk (Austria) 81 72, Mark Collins (Chart Hills Golf Club) 81 72, Albin Bergstrom (Sweden) 80 73, Alfie Plant (Sundridge Park Golf Club) 80 73, Scott Gregory (Corhampton Golf Club) 80 73, Craig Howie (Peebles Golf Club) 79 74, Jack Pierse (Portmarnock Golf Club) 79 74, Stuart Grehan (Tullamore Golf Club) 79 74, Luke Brown (New Zealand) 77 76, Sami Valimaki (Finland) 77 76, Pierre Pineau (France) 76 77, Eugene Smith (Laytown & Bettystown) 74 79
154 Patrick Mullins (Whitchurch (Cardiff) Golf Club) 83 71, Alex Gleeson (Castle Golf Club) 82 72, Jonathan Yates (Naas Golf Club) 81 73, Michael Smyth (Royal Troon Golf Club - Old Course) 81 73, Daniel Brown (Littlestone Golf Club) 80 74, Steven Capper (Caldy Golf Club) 80 74, Jack Yule (Kings Lynn Golf Club) 80 74, Kevin LeBlanc (The Island Golf Club) 79 75, Nicholas Smits (Gog Magog Golf Club) 78 76, Thomas Mulligan (Laytown & Bettystown) 77 77, Christopher Maclean (Balmore Golf Club) 77 77, Euan McIntosh (Turnhouse Golf Club Ltd) 77 77, Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle Golf Club) 77 77, Kyle Harman (Southerndown Golf Club) 75 79, Timothy Shin (Castle Royle Golf & Country Club) 74 80
155 Mark Power (Kilkenny Golf Club) 84 71, Joseph Trinder (Australia) 84 71, Tom Watson (South Africa) 83 72, Christopher Low (Tantallon Golf Club) 83 72, James Walker (Oaks Golf Club (The)) 82 73, Jake Bolton (Ogbourne Downs Golf Club) 81 74, David Nyfjall (Sweden) 81 74, Toby Briggs (Dunston Hall Golf Club) 79 76, Santeri Lehesmaa (Finland) 79 76, Sean Towndrow (Southport & Ainsdale Golf Club) 79 76, Bradley Moore (Kedleston Park Golf Club) 79 76, Calum Fyfe (Cawder Golf Club) 78 77, Nicholas Peoples (Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club) 76 79
156 Benjamin Jones (Northamptonshire County Golf Club) 81 75, Pontus Nyholm (Sweden) 80 76, Connor Syme (Drumoig Golf Club) 80 76, Colm Campbell (Warrenpoint Golf Club) 79 77, Jim Vartak De Heij (Netherlands) 77 79
157 Jack Gaunt (Drayton Park Golf Club) 85 72, Oliver Gillberg (Sweden) 85 72, Callum Farr (Priors Hall Golf Club) 80 77, Conor O'Rourke (Naas Golf Club) 79 78, Colin Fairweather (Knock Golf Club) 79 78, Nick Poppleton (Wath Golf Club) 77 80
158 Jake Mildenhall (West Middlesex Golf Club) 84 74, Samuel Turner (Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club) 84 74, John-Ross Galbraith (Whitehead Golf Club) 82 76, Gareth Bradley (Bramhall Golf Club) 81 77, Jake Whelan (Newlands Golf Club) 81 77, Marcus Svensson (Sweden) 80 78, Lee Jones (Conwy(Caernarvonshire) Golf Club) 80 78, Henry Alls (Notts Golf Club) 79 79, Bailey Gill (Lindrick Golf Club) 78 80,
159 Luca Cianchetti (Italy) 83 76, Robin Dawson (Tramore Golf Club) 83 76, Jeremy Freiburghaus (Switzerland) 81 78, Eanna Griffin (Waterford) 81 78, Jack Ainscough (Hartlepool Golf Club) 79 80, Jordan Sundborg (Shanklin & Sandown Golf Club) 78 81
160 Aaron Harper (Bolton Old Links Golf Club) 84 76, Stephen Roger (Cruden Bay Golf Club) 82 78, Craig Ross (Kirkhill Golf Club) 82 78, James Wilson (Balmore Golf Club) 81 79, Albert Venter (South Africa) 81 79, Tom Dolan (Heswall Golf Club) 78 82
161 Giacomo Fortini (Italy) 82 79, Thomas Williams (Wrexham Golf Club) 81 80, Gregor Tait (Aldeburgh Golf Club) 79 82
162 Neal Woernhard (Switzerland) 86 76, Henry Tomlinson (Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club) 85 77
163 Joshua Davies (Celtic Manor Resort) 90 73, Alexander Stubbs (Oxfordshire (The) Golf Club) 87 76, Christoffer Palsson (Sweden) 87 76, Thomas Plumb (Sherborne Golf Club) 85 78, James Hall (Royal Lytham & St Annes Golf Club) 83 80, Louis Birchall (Ingestre Park Golf Club) 83 80, Peter Melching (Netherlands) 83 80
164 Caylum Boon (South Africa) 86 78, Evan Griffith (Conwy Caernarvonshire) Golf Club) 86 78, Laird Shepherd (Rye Golf Club) 85 79
165 Tom Beasley (Hunstanton Golf Club) 90 75, Lukas Lipold (Austria) 86 79
166 Alasdair Plumb (Chelmsford Golf Club) 90 76, Eric McIntosh (Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society Ltd) 88 78, Adrian Villiger (Switzerland) 86 80, Tom Stagg (Salisbury & South Wilts Golf Club) 85 81, Steven Molumby (Brancepeth Castle Golf Club) 84 82
167 James Glenn (Brancepeth Castle Golf Club) 86 81, Christopher Fisher (Austria) 83 84
168 Marco Penge (Golf at Goodwood Golf Club) 94 74, Rory Browne (Feldon Valley Golf Club (formerly Brailes)) 85 83
169 Luca Denk (Austria) 86 83
172 John Murphy (Kinsale) 85 87
174 Mike Howard (Royal Birkdale Golf Club) 89 85
WD Matt Kippen (Enmore Park Golf Club) WD W
