With only two Irish men in action this week at the Dutch KLM Open in Bernardus Golf Club in Cromvoirt we were able to keep a close eye on both John Murphy and Tom McKibbin, with the young duo being paired together for the first two days.
McKibbin faired the better of the double act, finishing up with one-under-par round 71 for a T44 position while Murphy also had a solid round and finished with an even-par 72 to sit in T66 overnight with Jorge Campillo leading the way with an amazing nine-under par round now 63.
McKibbin was solid throughout the day and got to three-under after nine but a double bogey six on the fifth hole (his fourteenth of the day) set him back after his ball flew the green. A poor lie combined with a tricky pin position caused the Hollywood native some issues but to his credit McKibbin ground it out and only for a few near-missed birdie chances could’ve been in with a lower score. However all said and done, one under par is a solid first round on this challenging track.
For Murphy it was a case of what might have been as it could’ve been so much better, standing on the tee at seven (his sixteenth hole) lying in T-15th place at three-under par. However such are the trials and tribulations of professional golf, the last three holes didn’t go to plan. Speaking about the day overall, the Cork man, though disappointed with his finish, took positives from his first round.
“I feel like in general in the round there’s a lot of positives to take. I feel like I was in control throughout the day. I felt pretty comfortable over a lot of shots out there”
“Obviously it was very tough to drop three shots coming in and turn what was a pretty good day into an average day. However, I do feel like there are plenty of positives to take from the day going into tomorrow.”
As for his thoughts of the course, he felt it played very similar to the home of golf only with a twist.
“I really like the course. I feel it’s very similar to St Andrew’s only backwards. You can miss right a lot because there are a lot of double fairways joining holes. It’s very nice though, it’s a little different from what we’re used to. It’s very links-like and also plays very firm.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow, Murphy is upbeat about his chances of making a second successive cut on the DP Tour.
“Tomorrow I’m just going to control everything I can and get some good recovery in this evening. I’m going to make sure I can prepare in the best way I can for tomorrow. Take every shot as it comes and wherever that leaves me I can turn around and say I did everything I could”
Both golfers can take a lot of positives into their second rounds on Friday morning. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise to see both make the weekend at the KLM Open and continue on their upward flight paths.
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