David Mulholland finished up as the top Irish performer in the Spanish Senior Amateur Championship at Sherry Golf Jerez in Cadiz, taking solo seventh on +3, one ahead of defending champion Joe Lyons.
Starting the day five back of leader Mikko Rantanen of Finland, Mulholland recovered from a double on the second to card back-to-back birdies, but a strong of four bogeys in five holes starting on the sixth effectively killed any chances of a come-from-behind win.
Two birdies in the closing seven ensured a place in the top seven, however, and with it the honour of being leading Irishman.
A final-hole bogey from the defending champion cost Lyons a share of seventh with his fellow countryman, but a tie for eighth was a valiant defence of the title nonetheless.
Karl Bornemann (+6) finished tied for 14th, with Eddie McCormack (+8), John Reynolds (+9) and Shane Kenneally (+10) taking shares of 21st, 24th and 32nd respectively, and Noel Crawford completed the cut-making lineup in 63rd place.
Rantanen completed a wire-to-wire win but it wasn’t without its drama, as his final-round three-over did leave the door open for a charge from the chasing pack, but in the tough conditions, only England’s Stephen Creed from the top 10 managed to break par on the final day and his two-under-par 70 meant he finished solo second on +1, two behind the Finnish player.
Leave a comment