We all know how the famous song goes:

“Here he comes, walking to the green, he gets the worst looks, with every birdie he sinks,
Hey-hey, it’s Ray Murphy, and people say he’s the greatest around, but he’s too busy winning titles, to notice anyone staring him down”

Ok, so that might not be the famous song, but it could be, and like the man himself, it would be a record breaker. But yes, this is the section of Sugar Ray, and he’s the name that will be on everyone’s lips in the top half of the draw, but immediately for the other 7 guys hoping to grab their chance at glory. Those other 7 players are modest in stature compared to Silver Fox, but they will only have to play him once, or perhaps not at all, so the old maxim of taking each game on its merits rings true here also. How many times have we seen a player weigh up his draw and pick out a last 16 or quarter-final as the stumbling block, and never get that far? It happens all the time.

The first game of this, the bottom top-half section, see’s former Cork Chairman, the   ultra-steady John Treacy of Rocklodge, pit his wits against Tralee’s Gavin Carroll. Cork-Kerry affairs are normally testy in nature, but I’ve a feeling this will be a more Cordal affair (spot the pun there Kingdomites?).
Anywho, there will be little or nothing between these players, but the group that Carroll emerged from to qualify was tough in the extreme and I think he will have the edge in this Munster battle.

The next tie is another one of these low-key games that could turn out to be a corker. Shandon’s Keith Redmond has slowly but surely brought himself through the grades and to a level where he is now comfortable amongst, not only the capital’s elite, but that throughout Leinster. Nationally is a different story, where his experience is a little thin, but that won’t stop “Reds” from giving his all, and on certain days his all is good enough.
Opposing him is Pfizer’s David Ahern, a very solid stalwart from County Cork, and a player that has undoubtedly been unlucky in this competition in the past couple of seasons. Some of the dispatches from Cork amount that Ahern could go a few rounds this weekend, and Redmond is going to have a tough time dealing with this challenge.
Having said that, Redmond surely has benefited from the wealth of experience at his disposal on the Shandon team and once he utilises IT properly, he could navigate his way through this web to Round 2 (more puns).

The penultimate top half game is another Corkonian, Collins' Eoin Shannon playing Erin's Isle's Jim McLoughlin. I can't say I know a whole lot about Shannon, I know he performed well in Douglas a couple of years ago, and according to some unconfirmed reports on the Cork social circles that bats are nestling in his wallet, so I suppose it is in his best interests (and those fraternising with him) to remain in the competition for as long as possible, given the huge Cork contingent that will descend upon the Lucan clubhouse from now I guess?
Jim McLoughlin is one of the old stalwarts of Dublin Pitch and Putt, and one of the most identifiable and is a player to be avoided around the capital. Always capable of raising a spirited performance, he is favourite for this tie, and I figure he will progress to Sunday. The trick for Shannon is to keep it competitive for as long as possible, because someone from the Collins club will be going home early, and I'd hate to be the man to go home first, as the slagging will be unmerciful. McLoughlin to win, and probably receive a few jars from the Cork crew.

Which leaves the final tie of the morning gents session. Sugar Ray as I've come to call him, the Silver Fox, Murph, or as the wrestling guru's would say of Bret “The Hitman” Hart: the greatest there is, there was or there ever damn will be. He has on paper a straightforward enough tie against the DOC, Tullamore's Darren O'Connell. Folks, first off, this game will be anything but straightforward. DOC is Tullamore's captain, in this it's 50th Anniversary. I've never seen someone as proud of the honour as DOC has been, and he is absolutely itching for this game since the moment the draw was made. He was extremely unlucky not to reach the Leinster Matchplay final, and if anything that experience will stand to him. It might seem folly, but I think this tie will be in the balance. I know – ludicrous wha', given Sugar Ray's exploits, but DOC is in the form of his life. I'll go with Ray Murphy naturally, but if the odds of 5/1 are true, then a sneaky tenner wouldn't go amiss. Mind you you'll get odds of 5/1 on Eoin Shannon's wallet opening this weekend as well, so it's all relative.

Carroll and Redmond perhaps then for a spot in the last 16. While a paper will not refuse ink, and we all love to read about ourselves, sometimes it's unnecessary to go on ad nauseum. Redmond is looking forward to these championships and I think the target of a last 16 spot is well within his grasp. I expect he will meet his target.

Jim McLoughlin's m/o on Sunday morning will be simple: throw everything at Murphy, roll the dice and see what happens. Like the pubescent lad asking the belle around the corner to the dance on Friday night, what's the worst that can happen? Humiliation? Not a hope; Success? Unlikely; failure? Probable. The scale of the task before him is immense, but the longer the match goes on, who knows what the gods might decide. Despite all that rhetoric, the tie is Murphy's to lose, and I don't expect he will.

Therefore Keith Redmond would play Ray Murphy for a place in the quarter-final's with the whole of Dublin (and beyond I suspect) urging him to play the role of David to Sugar Ray's Goliath. For the longer Murphy remains in the competition the more nervous the rest of the field will get, and the more intense the legend's focus will become. Sadly I think this will be too much of a byte for Reds to chew, and worryingly for the rest, Ray Murphy will be quarter-finalist nummer vier.