Higgins powers to success

David Higgins was back at the top of the leader board after a rare six week absence as the sun sank low on Galway Bay.

The Waterville wonder posted a 70 in the Galway Bay Resort PGA Pro-am Tournament to head off all challengers.

The Kerry man's two-under-par score was the only red figure on Thursday.

Wintry weather along the western seaboard was far from conducive to sub-par golf.

But big hitting Higgins handled conditions at the €8,000 event remarkably well.

He finished two shots ahead of Andy Hogan with Damian Mooney and Damien McGrane a further shot back in joint third position.

Hogan, from Edmondstown, was the last professional to finish in the gathering darkness.

Newly-crowned PGA Irish Region champion McGrane has taken over the 2016 Irish Order of Merit from Higgins.

But the former front-runner sent a clear message that the season is far from over - and he has no intention of conceding the season's Order of Merit to McGrane just yet.

Connemara pro Hughie O'Neill was among the late finishers. He also brought in the winning team.

O’Neill and his amateur partners dovetailed perfectly to card a winning 89 points.