Paul McBride’s three-under round of 69 was the lowest score of the day in the Open Championship Regional Qualifier at The Island, and he’ll be joined by a strong Irish contingent at Final Qualifying on Tuesday July 1.
An eagle-three on the third hole was the highlight of the day for the man who represents the host venue, and five birdies besides were enough to see him move to the top of the leaderboard, finishing one shot ahead of Cloverhill’s Keith Shannon.
Hermitage’s Rowan Lester, Galway’s Ronan Mullarney, Brendan McCarroll of Foyle and Royal Belfast amateur Finlay Eager booked their places with rounds of one-under, completing the six-man group who carded rounds in red figures.
Finland’s Alex Hietala was the only non-Irishman to make the grade, and alongside him at +1 was Ruaidhri McGee who has yet to make a competitive start in 2025 in an Official World Golf Rankings-sanctioned event.
Nine players – Niall Kearney, Alex Maguire, Michael McGeady, Shane Franklin, Daniel Brennan, Italian Massimiliano Repele, and amateurs Oscar Murphy, Mark Gazi, and Englishman Max Berrisford – finished at +2, meaning they’d playoff for the two remaining spots, and it was Kearney and Maguire who progressed, with Murphy listed as the fifth reserve for Final Qualifying and more than likely to find himself teeing it up next Tuesday.
Repele is 26th reserve, with McGeady 35th, Gazi 56th, Franklin 65th and Berrisford 86th.
Elsewhere, John Murphy birdied six of his last seven holes to card a one-under 71 at Frilford Heath, but the Kinsale man lost out in a five-for-one playoff. But as seventh reserve, he also stands a good chance of earning a tee time at one of the four Final Qualifying venues.
Regional Qualifying took place at 15 venues in total across Great Britain and Ireland, with 131 spots in Final Qualifying at Burnham & Berrow, Dundonald Links, Royal Cinque Ports and West Lancashire next week on offer.
Shane Lowry, Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Pádraig Harrington and Tom McKibbin are already exempt into the Championship at Royal Portrush, and hopes are high that others will join them on the list next week when the Regional Qualifiers take their place alongside the other Irishmen exempt into Final Qualifying.
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