Murphy leads Irish trio into quarter-finals

John Murphy, the recent St Andrews Links Trophy winner, is now chasing glory in the 123rd Amateur Championship at Royal Aberdeen.

The 20-year-old Kinsale player swept into the last eight with a thumping 6&5 win over Norway’s Viktor Hovland, the highestranked player in the field.

In a strong wind, Hovland had to come from three down with three to play to beat Englishman Thomas Forster in the morning before being blown away by Murphy.

On a day when Scotland’s three remaining hopefuls all went out in the third round, the same number of Irishmen progressed to the quarter-finals.

Murphy faces compatriot Robin Dawson (Tramore) in the last eight while Conor Purcell (Portmarnock) is up against Australian David Micheluzzi.

South African Wilco Nienaber, the leading qualifier, lost to Englishman Tom Sloman in the last 16.