Rónán MacNamara in Royal Troon
Liam Nolan’s major championship debut started birdieless and he will need plenty of them today as he looks to make the cut on his first outing at the 152nd Open Championship in Royal Troon.
Nolan who only qualified for the Open two weeks ago, fell foul to the tricky conditions and eventually signed for a seven-over 78 which leaves him level with Rory McIlroy.
“I didn’t have my best stuff today. I was scrambling really well and then just one or two loose shots here on the back nine got going on the wind and really cost me a solid enough score today,” said Nolan who lies in T129 but still has designs on making the cut and sticking around for the weekend.
“So if I can cut those out tomorrow and roll in a few more putts, I should be able to get myself back back towards the cut
“I mean we the wind died down for us today so hopefully a few favorable conditions tomorrow again and I can I can improve on today.”
Teeing off in the third last group on Thursday, the Galway amateur finished in near darkness and he hopes a Friday morning tee time of 10:53am ahead of overnight leader Daniel Brown will be kinder to him.
Away from his score of seven-over which was by no means a disgrace, the 24-year-old was thrilled to have teed it up in an Open Championship.
“It was crazy. It was the big crowds out there in the course just being an unbelievable condition and the whole occasion is, is, is incredible. So I’m looking forward to doing it tomorrow. And the goal will be at this stage to try and do it for another three days. Would be amazing.”
Nolan was in a respectable position at two-over through nine holes but a bogey on ten and a hammer blow triple bogey seven on 13 after a lost ball off the tee was a kick in the teeth. There were no birdies to cushion the blow but he vows to go out swinging today.
“I mean, yeah, if I ended the week without a birdie, I’d be pretty disappointed. Yeah, we’ll see if I can hit them a bit closer tomorrow, for sure.”
Perspective is key for Nolan and he must remember how far he has come in the last twelve months. Even this year golf took a backseat in the spring as he knuckled down and hit the books for his final year exams in NUIG.
Being in Royal Troon this week is an unexpected delight for Nolan who plans on turning professional this year.
“Yeah, it was, it was a little bit unexpected. If you told me when I was studying for my finals there in April, I’d be playing the British Open this year I probably wouldn’t have believed you.
“It’s an amazing achievement to be here and just got a, got a reassess and go again tomorrow.”
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