Mark McGowan at Killeen Castle
For eight holes, Liam Nolan had it going on day two of the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle, but in the end had to settle for a two-over round of 74.
With strong gusts sweeping through the trees at the County Meath venue, the Galway man birdied four of his first eight but bogeyed two before reaching the 18th tee – his ninth – at two-under for the day and inside the top 10 on the leaderboard at -4.
But a double bogey there dropped him back to level-par at the turn, and two further bogeys on the way home left him at level-par overall.
“I was playing really nicely to start the day and 18 off that forward tee is kind of an easy tee shot – as far as easy goes out on the course – and I just double-crossed one and pulled a terrible lie, so made a double bogey there and then just kind of struggled to get the momentum back up.
“I was hitting plenty of good shots, just putts were skimming edges rather than dropping.”,
Rather than dwell on it, he’s taking the positives of another cut made, another opportunity to play in front of friends and family, and a chance to track down the leaders over another 36 holes.
“Yeah, look, we’re through to the weekend at home and it’s quite a tightly packed leaderboard, so two good rounds on the weekend could go a long way here.
“I’ve won tournaments from seven shots behind going into the last round, so seven shots over two days around here with a bit of wind blowing and tough pins isn’t that much, really.
“So, I just need to get the mindset right again for tomorrow, get a positive attitude going out there and see what we can do over the weekend.”
Tied for 42nd, but just four shots off seventh, an early tee time and a chance to play in calmer conditions could prove beneficial, particularly given how many players struggled in the afternoon wave on both days one and two.
“I had a few scenarios where I would pick a club thinking it’s like off the left and a little into and then next thing you hit it and it’s gone because it was a little bit down instead,” he explained. But that’s just part of the game here in Ireland. There are lots of people experiencing that this week.
“Just hopefully those gusts go my way over the weekend and we can make a good run up the leaderboard.”
If you wish to come and support Liam or any of the other players who have made it through to the weekend, you can avail of free tickets by clicking here.
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