Ronan Mullarney’s rookie Challenge Tour season hasn’t quite panned out the way the Galway man had envisioned, but that could all change after two excellent rounds at Golf Club Adamstal leave him just one shot back at the halfway mark in the Euram Bank Open in Austria.
There was a lot of Jekyll and a little Hyde in a second-round performance that saw him post birdies on one, three and five, double-bogey the par-5 seventh, bogey the eighth and then respond with an eagle on nine to make the turn at two-under.
The back nine was a little less up-and-down, but would yield a better score to par as he’d make birdies on 12, 13, 15 and 17, with a lone bogey coming on 16 to card a round of five-under and take the clubhouse lead at -8.
“Yeah, it was good,” he said afterwards. “The score was good. There was some not so good in there, but no, I’m delighted.”
His opening round was bogey-free with three birdies, but the second round served up an eagle, seven birdies, two bogeys and a double, and he was able to see the funny side of it.
“I don’t know what happened, I was like a different man,” he joked. “I started off quite well and was three-under through five, then pulled one left on seven, lost my ball and made double, bogeyed the next and then I holed out on nine. It all happened today. It’s hard to explain, but no, it was a good score in the end.”
Despite his strong position on the leaderboard – he’d eventually be overtaken but remain within a shot of the lead – he feels that there’s no clear explanation for why he appears to have taken a shine to the extremely hilly and scenic course in the Austrian mountains.
“I wish I knew,” he responded to the question, “it’s two decent scores but it’s tiring, not just the walk, but the concentration required. There’s a few really tight tee shots, but I wish I had a secret formula for what’s worked the first two days, I just hope I keep it going.”
Robert Moran is another of the Irish who is making waves and the first-year pro who is plying his trade on the Alps Tour is making the most of his Challenge Tour invite and he made five birdies and a bogey enroute to a four-under 66 that moved him into the top 10 on -6.
“Yeah, pretty steady,” was Moran’s assessment. “Only had one bogey, which was a three putt from 20ft out of nowhere. I wouldn’t say I did anything super, but everything was fairly stable. I rolled in a couple of putts and everything was steady enough, so pretty happy with it.
“I had one bogey out there, there’s birdie chances, but you can also get caught out pretty quickly, so I’m pretty happy to have limited the bogeys anyway.”
Moran is another who is blown away by the views on offer and the climbs required at Golf Club Adamstal.
“It’s unbelievable,” he said, “as scenic a golf course as we get to play. It’s like the Tour de France of golf, whoever is leading should be wearing a yellow jersey!
“There’s so many views, you almost don’t want to get distracted by it. I’ve focused on keeping good posture, because it’s easy to be walking up the hills slouching your shoulders, walking slowly and getting my breath back before each shot. It’s amazing, but tiring.
“It’s amazing, but tiring. You’re out of breath on a few of the holes walking up, you’re calves are crying. I’m pretty happy with how I’ve reset and got myself composed before every shot. You just have to put slightly more focus on it this week compared to any other week with your legs crying and heart pumping.
“It’s not like any other week where you can just rock up and off you go. I’ve found taking a couple more seconds to compose myself has helped so far.”
Daniel Mulligan, also making a rare Challenge Tour start, is a shot further back on -5 after a second-round 67, and Dermot McElroy posted a one-under 69 to move to -4.
Gary Hurley completes the Irish lineup for the weekend after following his level-par opener with a two-under 68, but Conor Purcell’s hopes of climbing back inside the top 20 in the Order of Merit took a blow with a late triple bogey proving costly and seeing him fall the wrong side of the cutline.
John Murphy and Hugh Foley also missed out, but with the strong representation at the sharp end of the leaderboard, hopes are high that one or more of the Irish will be in the mix come Sunday.
The trio of Pietro Bovari from Italy and Englishmen Frank Kennedy and Jamie Rutherford lead on -9, with Mullarney one of three a shot adrift at -8.
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