In golf, no two days are the same and that was the case for Liam Grehan who turned a battle to make the cut into a chance of a weekend charge at the Sunshine Tour’s The Mopani Zambia Open in Nkana Golf Club.
Grehan was up against it after a three-over 75 but he rallied in style with a superb second round of 66 to climb into a share of 13th place on three-under-par and seven shots off the halfway pace set by Herman Loubser.
The Mullingar man roared out of the traps in sumptuous style with three birdies in a row on the 11th, 12th and 13th holes before adding three more birdies on the 15th, 17th and 18th to turn in 30, hitting eight of nine greens in the process.
Things stalled slightly for Grehan with a dropped shot on the short par-5 2nd and the 8th but he canceled those out with birdies on the 4th and 9th.
“I was under pressure, I made it hard on myself yesterday,” said Grehan. “I was a little off with my swing, what I was working on I had started overdrawing and I added feels today to stop that today and hit it great, had loads of chances and was thrilled to convert a few of them.
“I found something both on the range and putting green and kept going with it so hopefully more of the same over the weekend which would be nice.”
The greens in Zambia are tricky to say the least with sandy barren patches entitling the players to relief, sometimes closer to the hole, while other spots are hairy with grass that can’t be cut too tight. But Grehan found them to his liking on Friday.
“The course is really nice, but there aren’t worse greens in Ireland, like one of those Celtic Tiger courses that closed down would have better greens than out here.
“There’s a rule in place this week that we get drops and even nearer the hole because some of the greens aren’t puttable so there is a bit of trouble on the course, we are getting the African experience.
“Some greens are really quick because it’s putting on sand and some are slow and hairy with the grass because they can’t cut them tight enough so you are reading the pull and an extra part of the read is how quick or slow it is depending on the amount of grass.
“They are quite puttable once you get the ball rolling.”
As for the weekend ahead, this is the final tournament before the mid-season break on the Sunshine Tour and Grehan is eager to return to Ireland on a high.
“I’m thrilled to be able to go low with the swing work I have been doing so just try and not get in my own way and overthink it and keep it flowing. That’s what I’ll be focusing on.”
Rowan Lester missed the cut by a shot on four-over after rounds of 72 and 76.
Scoring HERE
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