Robert Moran maintained his push to reach the second stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School with another solid round at Section B of Stage One in Montado Golf Resort.
The Castle golfer shot a three-under 69 to move to seven-under at the halfway stage and keep hold of his position inside the all-important top-23, with the top-23 and ties advancing to November’s Second Stage.
The Dublin amateur carded four birdies and his first dropped shot of the week to lie in a share of seventeenth place, seven shy of New Zealand amateur, Connor McKinney.
After five opening pars, the 23-year-old made his first positive move with a birdie on the sixth.
His first bogey of the week came on the eighth before a bounceback birdie saw him turn in 35.
The Irish international has been in great form this year, particularly abroad with strong performances at Le Golf National for the Eisenhower Trophy, The Lytham Trophy, St Andrews Trophy and the African Amateur and he continued that with a flawless back nine.
Birdies on 14 and 17 really stamped his authority on the event and ensured he will have a chance to progress over the weekend and give his dream of turning professional a shot in the arm.
It was a good day for the Irish overall with San Francisco based Redmond Lyons reigniting his hopes of a DP World Tour card with a three-under 69 to move onto that mark.
It was a bogey-free round for the 28-year-old who began on the back nine with a birdie on the tenth before adding two more gains on the first and seventh.
But he still has work to do to come back from 42nd place, needing two low rounds to have a chance at progressing.
English amateur John Gough whose father hails from Co. Meath lost ground on the chasing pack with a two-over 74 to fall back to one-under while regular Irish Amateur Open competitor Cedric Gugler of Switzerland has recently turned professional and has moved into the mix with a four-under 68 to lie a shot behind Moran on six-under-par.
Scoring HERE
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