Sitting 33rd in the Road to Mallorca Rankings on the Challenge Tour with four events before the Grand Final, Conor Purcell will be looking to force his way into the coveted top-20 and earn a DP World Tour card knowing that he is good enough to play at this level.
Purcell made the cut at the Horizon Irish Open late on Friday evening and backed that up with a steady one-under 71 to edge to three-under-par despite a three-putt on the last after the green had just been rolled before he played the hole. After two bogeys and a birdie on the front nine he showed glimpses of what he can do with birdies on the tenth, thirteenth and fifteenth to move into a share of 55th position at the K Club.
“Alright, yeah, decent day. Up and down. Front nine was a little bit sloppy. It was playing quite tricky in the morning when it’s a bit colder and the ball’s not going as far. Pins were very tucked all day. And even on 18, I thought I hit an Okay putt and it went 15 feet past.
“Yeah, iron play is getting better. Thursday wasn’t great. But I managed to find something on the range. And then probably the best one of the day was on 15. I hit it to a foot, which was nice.”
The 26-year-old is making his Irish Open debut and had a smile gleaming from ear to ear on Friday after making the cut on the number and that grin is still wide, tinged with an air of bullishness that he can indeed make the grade at the top level.
“Probably a little bit of self-belief, knowing I can live with the lads out here. But I think the more I keep playing out here, you just realise that everyone’s kind of very similar in their own ways. They are different tours. But no one’s really playing much different golf. Obviously, the top lads are playing really good stuff. But I think if you can compete anywhere at the moment in pro golf, you’re able to do it.
The K Club has proved a step up in class for Purcell this week who has already impressed in Europe’s top-tier with a career-high 7th at the Australian Open. He most likely can’t dream of those dizzy heights tomorrow unless he does something remarkable but it’s been another impressive showing at a higher level and gives him momentum ahead of the Challenge Tour run in.
“I think on each tour, pins probably get gradually closer to the edge, and there were more three from the left, three from the right pins this week than I’ve ever seen. They’re quite tricky greens around here. So when they tuck them a little bit, it makes it even harder.
“I think I’m playing four events before Grand Final now. So yeah, I think once you get yourself into the Grand Final, you have a chance of getting into the top 20. So I’ll put my best foot forward.”
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