Paul McBride is just four shots back and inside the top 10 going into the third and final round of the Clutch Pro Tour’s Rapsodo Open at Oxford Golf Club, but he’s the only one of 10 Irish to make the cut.
The Island man eagled his final hole in Tuesday’s opening round to leapfrog his way to the top of the Irish contingent, and he followed up with a three-under 67 in round two where, this time playing from the 10th, he birdied his final hole and he’ll be in the fourth-to-last group in Thursday’s final round.
McBride’s performance masks a disappointing week overall for the Irish, however. Brandon St John, Robert Brazill and James Sugrue all missed the cut by the minimum, finishing with 51 players ahead of them and just the top 50 and ties progressing, while Conor Murtagh, John Ross Galbraith, Damien Scott, Rory Williamson, Scott Montgomery and Andrew Browne also missed out.
It is particularly disappointing for Sugrue who came into the week in eighth place in the Order of Merit and hunting down one of three HotelPlanner Tour cards on offer.
England’s Joe Brooks is the man McBride and the remaining contenders are tasked with chasing down and he holds a two-stroke lead at -11 over a further five Englishmen who share second.
McBride, who ranks 41st in the Order of Merit, could make a sizeable leap up the rankings if he can put together another good round on Thursday.
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