No fewer than six of the 11 Irish hopefuls at the four various Spanish sites are in position to advance to next week’s Final Stage of DP World Tour Q-School.
Niall Kearney, Dermot McElroy, Conor O’Rourke, Paul Dunne, Rauidhri McGee and Alex Maguire are all placed within the provision qualifiers at their respective venues, while Ronan Mullarney and Mark Power are all within a couple of strokes of playing their way into the prized positions.
At Isla Canela Golf Links in Huelva, Kearney posted the second-lowest round of the day with an eagle and five birdies enroute to a bogey-free 66 that lifted him to -9 for the tournament and into a tie for 14th with 22 set to advance. Just two back from the coveted qualification spots, Mullarney kept himself in the mix with a four-under 68 that featured an eagle, six birdies but an unfortunate triple bogey means he’s got work to do on Sunday, while Paul McBride’s chances look to have slipped after a 73 to sit on +1.
At Golf Las Pinaillas, all three of the Irish have put themselves in position, though with play suspended due to darkness, a long Sunday is ahead. At -2, Dermot McElroy is in fourth place overall, with Conor O’Rourke and Paul Dunne locked in 10th place at level-par.
Scoring at Las Pinaillas has proven the toughest of the four venues with high winds causing the complete abandonment of the opening round, but McElroy enjoys a five-stroke cushion over the players outside the bubble and hopes are high that all three can advance.
In Girona, Alex Maguire has been joined by Ruaidhri McGee at -4 and in a tie for 12th. Laytown and Bettystown amateur Maguire’s third-round level-par 71 was his highest score of the week and a closing bogey will have frustrated him. McGee made six birdies, all of which came in the opening 13 holes, before a bogey at 16 dropped him back to -5 for the day.
Mark Power’s one-over 72 leaves him on level-par for the week and two shots outside the qualification mark, but John Murphy at +4 and Robert Moran at +7 look to have too much work to do to advance.
In Desert Springs, the sole Irishman Marc Boucher lies on +2 and in 62nd place. The Carton House amateur has only completed two of the four rounds, but looks to be too far back to mount a late challenge.
FULL SCORING – Follow the links for individual venue scoring
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