County Louth’s Gerard Dunne will carry local hopes into the weekend at the Flogas Irish Men’s Amateur Open Championship as he shares the lead at Seapoint Golf Links.
The former Seapoint member carded a morning round of 67 to reach ten-under-par which at the time put him two shots in front and his score wasn’t passed after a testing afternoon breeze saw defending champion Matthew McClean and England’s Lewy Hayward end the day alongside him.
“It’s been an enjoyable couple of days, good weather with some good golf thrown in there,” said Dunne who held a clutch par putt on the 9th, his last to remain in double digits before he returned to work as a guidance counsellor for the afternoon.
“I held a few nice six and seven footers to kind of keep the score ticking over. Everybody hits the ball well out here, generally the one who holes the most putts is going to shoot the score so thankfully for the first few days I’ve holed out well.”
Backed by a healthy morning crowd, Dunne birdied the eleventh and bogeyed the thirteenth. He got things motoring in the right direction with a superb two at the par-3 15th and a two putt birdie on the par-5 18th before holding a mid range putt for birdie on the first.
Birdies on the par fives sixth and eighth put him out in front on his own and he hopes he can keep the crowd entertained over the weekend and maybe keep the Louth supporters away from Croke Park on Sunday!
“Yesterday being local, good weather brings people out and I am very happy to bring people out,” Dunne said.
“I won’t spend too much time thinking of it, the course is in great shape and there are plenty of chances out there. I didn’t hit the ball fantastically well but got it around well, get it around and hole a few putts, keep the score ticking. When you get off to a good start in the fist round you want to keep it going.”
Malone’s McClean saw the first stutter of his title defence as he bogeyed two of his last three holes in a strong wind to fall back into a share of the lead.
The 31-year-old didn’t hit the ball as beautifully as he had been doing and relied on his putter from off the green twice for an eagle on the par-4 16th and for a birdie on the third.
McClean added further gains on the first and fourteenth but dropped shots on the fourth, seventh and ninth prevented him from pulling away and he had to settle for a 70.
His course record 64 from Thursday was under serious threat from a rampant Hayward who came into his own in the tricky conditions.
The Englishman fired five birdies in seven holes and tapped in for another on the sixth after leaving an eagle putt in the jaws to reach seven-under for his day.
But he couldn’t birdie any of the last three holes but did make a crucial up and down on the ninth to preserve his place in the final group going into the weekend.
“Around the turn I picked up quite a few,” said Hayward who hit sixteen greens in his superb effort of 65. I was thinking about going very low, hit one close into the sixth and left it in the jaws but I just kept trying to hit fairways and greens and see what happens.”
The danger man heading into the weekend is County Louth/Tullamore and Termonfeckin resident Stuart Grehan who had a tale of two nines but was pleased with a 69 to reach nine-under and get within one of the leaders.
Grehan made four birdies in a row from the 15th and after lipping out from six feet for a fifth on the first, he had to knuckle down and despite dropping shots at the fourth and ninth, he picked up a vital birdie on the par-5 8th after getting up and down from the green side bunker.
Although disappointed not to be in the final group, the former professional is pleased with where his game is at.
“Overall pretty pleased, probably left two or three out there but in a great position with 36 to go,” said the former East and South champion.
“I stayed in the moment, hit one shot at a time, mentally I was quite good out there today. Made a nice bunker shot on the 8th, bit of a sour finish with a bogey but still in a good position going into the next couple of days. It’s all good and hopefully some people stick around tomorrow before heading to Croker on Sunday. I’m excited and looking forward to it.”
At the close of play just six shots separate the top-15 players with major winners Colm Campbell (-6) and Keith Egan (-4) in the hunt.
Scoring HERE
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