Cathal Butler bowed out of the AIG Irish Close Championship this afternoon after the Kinsale man reached the last 8 of the domestic major in Ballybunion.  Of the six Cork golfers to make the top 64 matchplay stage, just Butler and Greg O’Mahony remained after two rounds of matchplay, and O’Mahony went out in the third round, losing to Charlie Denvir.  Butler came through this morning’s match against Stephen Walsh, beating the former South champion on the 17th.  In the quarter final he faced Robbie Brazill, the on form Irish international.

Brazill got off to a flier and Butler found himself four down after six.  He won the seventh to pull one back but Brazill got the lead back to five by the turn, snuffing out any chance Butler had.  The match was eventually settled on the 16th when the Naas man won 4&2.  Brazill will face Alan Fahy tomorrow morning while leading qualifier Ronan Mullarney will play Charlie Denvir in the other semi-final.

AIG Irish Amateur Close Championship at Ballybunion

Match Play – Round 3
R Mullarney (Galway) bt N Hearns (Mountrath) 5&4; S Flanagan (Portmarnock) bt TJ Ford (Co. Sligo) 2&1; E Stack (Ballybunion) bt R Knightly (Royal Dublin) 2&1; C Denvir (Elm Park) bt G O’Mahony (Fota Island) 6&5; C Butler (Kinsale) bt S Walsh (Portmarnock) 2&1; R Brazill (Naas) bt D Morley (Oughterard) 2 holes; E Murphy (Dundalk) bt C Campbell (Warrenpoint) 4&3; A Fahy (Dun Laoghaire) bt E Farrell (Ardee) 2 holes

Quarter Finals
R Mullarney bt S Flanagan 2 holes; C Denvir bt E Stack 19th; R Brazill bt C Butler 4&2; A Fahy bt E Murphy 3&1

Wednesday 7 August Semi Finals
0845 R Mullarney v C Denvir
0900 R Brazill v A Fahy
1400 Final