South of Ireland: Ward tops O'Hara in 19

LAHINCH, COUNTY CLARE, Ireland (July 31, 2013) -- County Louth’s Simon Ward left the amateur ranks as a winner when he beat Kilkenny’s Paul O’Hara at the 19th in a high competitive South of Ireland Amateur Open final at Lahinch. Played in wind and rain with occasional bursts of sunshine, it ended at the first extra hole when 34-year old Kilkenny player O’Hara three putted from off the back of the green, missing a putt of little more than four feet to stay alive. It was a sad end to a tremendous tussle in which the lead changed hands three times and while there was never more than a hole in it at any stage, only six holes were halved. Ward, who won this title as a 19 year old in 2006, now turns his sights to the professional game and a tilt and the European Tour qualifying school in September.