Max Kennedy brilliantly birdied his last three holes to shoot a five-under 67 and share the lead with his Royal Dublin clubmate Jack McDonnell heading into this afternoon’s final round of the Kingspan-sponsored East of Ireland Amateur Open at Baltray.

Royal Dublin’s Jack McDonnell passed an important stress test when he recovered from a mid-round wobble to take a one-shot lead into the final two rounds of the Kingspan sponsored East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship.

Forrest Little’s Jack McDonnell loves Baltray and it showed on the opening day of the Kingspan East of Ireland Championship when he made six birdies in a six-under 66 to grab the early lead at County Louth.

Alex Maguire has played in The Open, the Irish Open and the Walker Cup while for him, the East of Ireland is the biggest championship.

Slieve Russell’s Shane McDermott eagled the 18th to card a second successive 68 and take a one-stroke lead into the final two rounds of the East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at County Louth.

Harry Gillivan hit the crossbar when he was beaten in the final of the Munster Amateur Championship at Cork in May, but he’s in a scoring position again at County Louth, where a five-under 67 gave him a one-shot lead after the opening round of the East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship.

Alex Maguire became the first Laytown and Bettystown member to win the East of Ireland Amateur Open in 41 years when he came from 10 shots behind at halfway to win by two shots on eight-under-par.

Naas’ Robert Brazill will be bidding to complete a remarkable comeback from injury and falling out of love with the game when he takes a one-stroke lead into this afternoon’s final round of The D Hotel-sponsored East of Ireland Amateur Open at County Louth.

A cold east wind gusting over 20 mph proved no impediment to Scotland’s Shaun Hedger as he carded a best-of-the-day five-under 67 to take a two-stroke lead into the final 36 holes of The D Hotel sponsored East of Ireland Amateur Open at County Louth.

Royal Portrush's Jack Madden overcame a difficult northeast wind gusting over 25 mph and made two eagles in a five-under 67 to take a two-shot lead after the opening round to the D Hotel-sponsored East of Ireland Championship at County Louth.

Colm Campbell wants to take a giant step towards earning a spot on Ireland's six-man team for July's European Team Championships when he seeks his fourth amateur Major in the East of Ireland at County Louth this weekend.

Golf Ireland is working to find a new date for the East of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at County Louth after its traditional June Bank Holiday finish was ruled out.

Golf Ireland will soon finalise the 2021 fixture list but the main events are now set in stone with the Irish Men’s Amateur Close set for Tullamore from May 8-12 and the Irish Women’s Amateur Close scheduled for the Old Course at Ballybunion from June 17-20.