Purcell lights up the back nine to hit the summit at K Club

Ronan MacNamara
|
|

Conor Purcell (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Ronan MacNamara

Feature Interviews

Latest Stories

A blistering run around the turn saw Conor Purcell remain firmly in the hunt at the halfway stage of the Irish Challenge at the K Club. 

The Portmarnock star picked up five shots in as many holes from the eighth as he recovered from a rocky period in the middle of his front nine

After a brace of bogeys on the sixth and seventh holes, Purcell came roaring back with a birdie on the par-3 8th before birdies on 11 and 12 followed up a superb eagle three on the 10th – Purcell’s second of the week. 

The 25-year-old also birdied the third and finished in style to card a four-under 68 which has taken him to –11 after 36 holes. 

“Today was good, I started off pretty well, I had a poor middle stretch on my front nine but made a nice eagle on ten and followed that up with back-to-back birdies, I started the back nine well and just kept going so I was very happy,” explained Purcell who is tied for the lead with good friend John Murphy at the time of writing. 

“I knew if I got off to a slow start this morning it could have been a slog out there, but thankfully the birdie on three helped to settle me into it and get under par for the day early and build from there. 

“It did go a bit flat for a few holes after that but the eagle at ten lit things a bit and I started holing putts and seeing the ball roll in which was good.  

“It can be funny out there sometimes, you miss a few and you feel like you are never going to hole anything then you hole a few and you feel like you can’t miss, thankfully I got on a little streak on my back nine and it felt good. 

“I have been in a couple of later groups this year so I know what to expect and hopefully I have learned from that,” added the former Walker Cup player. 

It has been a difficult few years for Purcell who earned his first cheque as a professional here in a €10k shootout in 2020 but after registering two top-25s and a top-5 on the second-tier he is looking forward to showcasing his talents in front of a buoyant home crowd this weekend. 

“Hopefully we get a big following over the weekend. We all get a big buzz playing at home and to have so many family and friends out following its great. Hopefully we can put on a show over the weekend. 

“Whether it’s in Ireland or anywhere I am just trying to put myself in contention every weekend, it’s nice to do it at home in front of people I know but its foot down from here, we are only halfway with a lot of golf to play,” added the Dubliner who has been threatening to win on the Alps Tour this term. 

Scoring HERE

Stay ahead of the game. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the latest Irish Golfer news straight to your inbox!

More News

Leave a comment


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy & Terms of Service apply.