The Irish senior amateur campaign resumes this weekend after more than a month of no action with the Irish Open in Carlow.
A total of 59 players have entered the second ranking event of the season at the Ivy Rooms, which is sponsored by Hickson Centre.
Brendan O’Donoghue won the first event this term when he narrowly pipped Robert Murphy in a decider to claim the Barracks Classic in September.
On the back of those strong performances, the pair, alongside Michael Judge, John Farrell and young Ross Bulman, have all gained a safe passage into the last 32.
Before that, the first round will take place early on Saturday morning with the likes of David Hogan, Rodney Goggins and national champion TJ Dowling in action.
Jonathan Williams, the player Dowling beat in May to capture a third Irish Championship, and last season’s top ranked Jason Devaney also feature.
For Devaney, Dowling and Judge it represents the last opportunity to gain some much-needed match sharpness ahead of the IBSF amateur World Championship in Doha next week.
Meanwhile Goggins, who last weekend attended the first RIBSA Junior Development day of the year, is involved in arguably the tie of the opening round as he faces Cork’s Greg Casey.
The second Masters tournament of the campaign is set to be played on Sunday.
Click here to view the Irish Open draw.
