Beaten by Jim Carvill in the final last year, Crowe has since acquired a taste for amateur championship victories but the 25-year-old Dunmurry player will have to be at his sharpest to see off the Kilkenny man on the evidence of Nugent's 6 and 5 first round victory at the wind-lashed Clare links.

Limerick's Patrick Sheehy hardly knew what hit him as Nugent, who reached the third round last year, produced some sensational wind golf to close out the match on the 13th green.

Links players were at a distinct advantage as the wind whipped across the first tee from the south east and it was no surprise that Co Sligo's Gary McDermott or the Island's Andrew Pitcher, Ronan O'Connor and Brendan Walton were among the early first round victors.

Born and raised just decent drive from Rosses Point, McDermott showed little mercy to Dungarvan's Tom Melody as he ran out an easy 8 and 7 winner on the pristine, if wind-lash fairways at the classic Clare links.

Big-hitting Pitcher beat his fellow clubman David Rawluk 3 and 2 while Walton, a nephew of the Ryder Cup player Philip, edged out Laytown and Bettystown's Jason Somers by one hole to secure a second round clash with the former Shamrock Rovers winger Stephen Grant today.

Six former winners of the title were in the starting field and two of them will be in action early today with threetime champion Paraic O'Rourke from Kilkenny getting the better of former Tipperary hurler Michael Cleary by 2 and 1. O'Rourke will face City West's Gerard Lawlor today while 1999 winner Mark Campbell from Stackstownwill take on Gavin O'Connor.

However, Ennis's Noel Pyne failed to progress in his 44th appearance in the South when he lost by 3 and 2 to West Waterford's Alan Harty.

"That was probably my last, " sighed 60-year old Pyne.

"I got in this year off 1.4, but I don't know if I'll get in next year. I'd love to, because I played quite well out there but you just never know."