Allan Hill (Athenry) during the first round of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship, European Club, Brittas Bay. Picture © Golffile | Fran Caffrey

The European Club is a relentless test of golfing excellence, but while Peter O'Keeffe dropped three shots in his last two holes to find himself four shots off the lead he's looking forward to seeing the wind blow over the weekend as he chases a rare double in the Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship.

Favourite to wrap up the Bridgestone Order of Merit having claimed the AIG Irish Amateur Close and the Munster Strokeplay titles earlier this summer, the Douglas star is also looking to become just the seventh player to win the Irish Close and Irish Open titles in the same year.

For a long time yesterday he looked set to challenge for the overnight lead in a 54-hole event where the top 50 and ties tonight will qualify for tomorrow's final round.

Even with receptive fairways and greens and virtually no wind, just four players broke par as the field averaged 77.39 on a par-71 track measuring 7169 yards with the short second replaced by the 215-yard 12A.

O’Keeffe was one-under with two to play after mixing bogeys at the fifth and eighth (traditionally the sixth and eighth as the second has been replaced by the par three 12A) with birdies at the fourth, 13th and 14th, he spun a wedge off the 17th and failed to get up and down, then made six at the last after catching a fairway bunker left with a three-wood.

It all added up to a two-over 73 that left the 39-year-old strength and conditioning coach tied for 13th, four strokes behind Athenry's Allan Hill, who followed a three-putt bogey at the sixth with birdies at the 14th, 15th and 18th for a two-under 69.

Hill, a 21-year old final-year golf scholarship student at NUI Maynooth, showed the great Pat Ruddy creation can be conquered as he made up for a three-putt bogey from 50 feet at the sixth (traditionally the seventh) by knocking in a 25 footer at the 14th and a 15 footer at the 15th before rifling a 187-yard six-iron to 35 feet the 481-yard 18th before watching his putt topple in on its final revolution for a two-under 69 and a one-stroke lead over Letterkenny's Cian Harkin, Switzerland's Cedric Gugler and Scotland's Ruben Lindsay.

"It was playing pretty tricky out there", Hill said after his round. "Obviously, The European Club has the pedigree of being quite a difficult course, so I was delighted because bar one mistake on six and getting angry after missing a good birdie chance on 13, I made three nice putts coming in and played very solidly all day."

O’Keeffe was frustrated by his finish having patiently plotted his way around a course where he shot rounds of 82 and 90 as a wild young player in the 2006 Irish Amateur Close when Rory McIlroy retained his title as a 17-year-old.

“I stuck to a good game plan all day and just deviated away from it on 18,” said O’Keeffe, who felt he should have hit driver rather than three wood at the 481-yard 18th. “I played lovely all day with a good strategy but it’s just a patience golf course. The last is 480 yards and you can’t lay too far back; you have to take it on.

“So I should’ve taken it on the whole way and just hit a driver but while I hit a lovely shot it just caught that bunker on the left. Dead.”

Still well in the hunt, he’s a far different player to the 23-year-old who missed the cut here 15 years ago.

“I shot 66 here in the Close in 2018 so I’ve got a handle on this course now,” said the Douglas man, who birdied the fourth, bogeyed the fifth and eighth but then rolled in birdies at the 13th and 14th to dip into the red. “It’s just completely about patience but you have to get really good shots and I did for 16 holes. It can just catch you out at any time.”

Harkin only got into the event as a reserve and he was thrilled to find himself in the mix.

"I was just happy to be here," he said. "I stayed calm throughout. I made a few putts and did all I could to stay out of the rough all day. It's all about hitting fairways and greens out there.

"I've proven myself to the boys at home today. Sometimes I wonder if they think 'is he good enough?' To see my name near the top of the leaderboard is a dream come true."

Roscommon's Thomas Higgins shot a level par 71 to lie solo sixth with Galway veteran Joe Lyons in a seven-man logjam for sixth on one-over that includes Irish international Matthew McClean from Malone.

Despite a double-bogey on 18, Lindsay is only one shot off the pace.

“It’s my first tournament round in a while. I’m delighted with how I played today. I holed a few putts. It’s been a solid day.

“It was nice to get back out there today and feel a bit of pressure. Today was all about not playing myself out of contention.”

Swiss visitor Gugler was out in the second group of the day and stayed at the top of the leaderboard throughout.

“I played solid golf today,” the Zurich golfer reported. “I made no big mistakes. My long game was good. I’m pretty happy.

“I like playing on links golf. We don't have these courses in Switzerland obviously, but I’m really happy to shoot a good score today.”

Day one is about not shooting yourself out of the tournament and while Castle’s Robert Moran was a no return after going down in a hail of bogeys and double bogeys well before the finish, the promise of wind today gives everyone on the right side of 80 a chance to get back into the tournament.

“My plan was today was just to keep myself in it,” O’Keeffe said. “I’m hoping for some weather.”

The top 50 and ties after Saturday’s second-round qualify for Sunday’s third and final round.

Flogas Irish Amateur Open Championship, The European Club (Par 71)

Detailed scores

First rd.

69 A Hill (Athenry);

70 C Harkin (Letterkenny), C Gugler (GCC Zurich), R Lindsay (Turnberry);

71 T Higgins (Roscommon);

72 E Papineau (Canada), E Dimayuga (Walton Heath), N Gerhardsen (Breitenloo), J Lyons (Galway), M McClean (Malone), B McDougall (Canada), J Claridge (Enville);

73 K Egan (Carton House), P O'Keeffe (Douglas), R Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire);

74 A Marshall (Lisburn), G Dunne (Co. Louth), T Matthews (Aldersey Green), H Smith (The Rayleigh Club), E Murphy (Dundalk), A Edwards-Hill (Chelmsford), A Ryan (Thurles), R Cheetham (Pedham Place Golf Centre), P Coughlan (Castleknock), D Shiel (Powerscourt);

75 D McCormack (Corrstown), R Cannon (Balbriggan), C Graham (Blairgowrie), T Lecomte (Evian Resort), J Cleary (Elm Park), J McDonnell (Forrest Little), S McLoughlin (Co. Sligo), G Lappin (Belvoir Park), D McDonnell Jnr. (Monkstown), G Cullen (The Links Portmarnock), G Holland (Southport & Ainsdale), S Goldenring (MGA);

76 C Rafferty (Dundalk), K Popert (Wildernesse), J Whelan (Grange), H Foley (Royal Dublin);

77 S Cave (The Belfry ), A Hickey (Galway Bay), A Challoner (Galway Bay), J Harvey (The Kendleshire), G Ward (Kinsale);

78 J Fox (Portmarnock), L Nolan (Galway), M Boucher (Carton House), P Ulmrich (GC Mannheim-Viernheim 1930 e.V. ), S Walker (Roscommon), M Scowsill (Woodbridge), J Hill (Galgorm Castle), D Goldstein (MGA), S Flanagan (Portmarnock), S Siltala (Kankaisten Golf), J Prutthaweewat (Bern), J Skeet (Royal of Belgium), J Murphy (Douglas);

79 J Berry (Doncaster), J Rackard (Enniscorthy), S Ryan (Royal Dublin), D Kitt (Athenry), A Mulholland (Castlerock);

80 M Mullen (Rosslare), N Mäki-Petäjä (Vuosaari Golf Helsinki), S Keeling (Roganstown), A Kiernan (Forrest Little);

81 J Jämsä (Pickala), M Deasy (Douglas), R Brazill (Naas), T Randolph (MGA), M Shiel (Galway Bay);

82 S McDermott (Slieve Russell), E Sullivan (Carton House), D Reddan Jnr (Nenagh), A Fahy (Dun Laoghaire);

83 J Waaralinna (Pickala), G O'Neill (Malahide), P Keeling (Roganstown), P McKeever (Castle);

85 A Trenta (Lägern), J Hewitt (Tandragee), A Benson (West Lothian);

86 R Muir (Kilmarnock (Barassie), C Butler (Kinsale), C Sharpe (Blairgowrie);

87 N Hearns (Mountrath);

90 T Plunkett (Crover House);

WD K LeBlanc (The Island) 90;

NR R Moran (Castle);

RTD R Knightly (Royal Dublin).