DOUBLE DELIGHT
Grant and Gleeson shine in Buenos Aires
LISBURN’S Paula Grant showed she will fight to the death for her Curtis Cup place when she closed with a 69 to finish a brilliant third in the South American Amateur Championship in Argentina.
As Castle’s Alex Gleeson tied for fifth in the men’s championship and Tramore’s Robin Dawson produced a fast finish to claim a share of 12th, Grant finished just two shots behind Paraguay’s Milagros Chaves, who claimed victory with a chip-in birdie at the 18th as overnight leader Silvia Garces made double bogey.
“It was a great week and the clubs arriving a day late wasn’t a major issue,” said a delighted Grant, whose luggage was delayed in transit – the clubs remaining in Heathrow as her case was sent to Chile instead of Buenos Aires.
But she left with a bronze medal in her carry-on baggage and refused to blame the late arrival luggage for an opening 76 that left her eight shots behind at leafy Martindale Country Club.
“I just tried to do as much preparation as I could,” said Grant, who is now an optometrist. “It was nice to dig deep and put in some good rounds after the bad start.”
The Irish Women’s Close champion was three shots behind Garces heading into the final round. But after going out in two-under-par, she followed bogeys at the 10th and 11th with three successive birdies from the 13th.
She was still four-under for the championship with two holes to play and briefly found herself in a tie for the lead with Chaves and Garces, who were playing in the group behind.
As Grant finished par-par for a 69 to lead in the clubhouse on fourunder 284, Garces made an eagle three at the 17th to lead by two strokes from Chaves on sevenunder.
But the Colombian took six at the last after Chaves spectacularly chipped in for a birdie three to win by a shot on six-under-par from Garces, who missed her bogey putt to force a playoff.
Grant is one of four Irish players in the preliminary Curtis Cup squad with Leona Maguire, Olivia Mehaffey and Lurgan’s Annabel Wilson, who shot 76 on the final day to share 22nd on nine-over.
“Yes, I’ll play everything,” Grant said of her schedule. “I do locum work which is flexible, so it’s perfect for golf.”
Victory was always going to be a challenge for Gleeson in the men’s event as he began the final day eight strokes behind Canada’s Chris Crisologo, the eventual winner.
The Castle player was alone in fourth, five off the lead with nine to play after going out in one-under 35 to Crisologo’s 38.
But a level par back nine featuring two birdies and two bogeys meant he signed a one-under 71 and finished tied for fifth on seven-under with New Zealander Charlie Hillier.
Crisologo shot 73 to win by four shots from the Argentinian on 13-under par, clinching a place in the European Amateur Championship this summer.
Dawson can also be pleased with his first outing since last year’s European Tour Qualifying School, making fewer mistakes than the winner over the four days.
Former Irish Close champion Gleeson made 20 birdies over the 72 holes and like Dawson, he will be looking forward to next month’s trip to South Africa for the South African Stroke Play Championship and the African Amateur Championship.