John Ross Galbraith is 18 holes away from a maiden Clutch Pro Tour victory after a scorching eight-under 64 gave him a two-stroke lead at Harleyford Golf Club.
An opening 66 had him in good stead but three off the first round lead, and an early morning tee time on day two offered the opportunity to take advantage of freshly rolled greens. And take advantage he did with birdies at one, six, seven and nine to make the turn at -4 for the day and still bogey-free for the tournament.
Another birdie on 10 set him up nicely for the back, and though he’d remain without a blemish on the card, five straight pars got him to the 16th tee at just one-under on the back side. But despite the brief stall, he picked up the pace again with a birdie on the par-3 and added two more on the par-5 17th and par-4 18th to get to -14 for the tournament and sit all alone at the top of the leaderboard.
Liam Grehan and Stuart Grehan are also in fine form and are locked together in a tie for sixth at -9. The former had the best of it on day two with a six-under 66 that included nine birdies, a bogey and a double bogey, while Tullamore man Stuart made five birdies and two bogeys enroute to a 69.
Play was suspended before the second round could be completed, but Jack Madden at -5 and Rowan Lester at -4 should be secure enough of final round tee times, but Daniel Mulligan on -3 is right on the cutline.
Marc Boucher and Rory Williamson sit on -1 with six and five holes played respectively, but Robert Brazill, Brandon St. John and Scott Montgomery all seem poised to miss out.
Galbraith’s closest challenger is Englishman Ryan Evans who shot back-to-back 66s for a -12 tally, but Ryan Harmer at -11 has six holes to go in round two and could yet overtake the Whitehead man before the final round gets underway.
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