The sun shone on day one of The K Club Pro-Am – the largest Pro-Am in Europe with 100 professionals and their 100 amateur teams and a €100,000 prizefund – and it was The Island’s Paul McBride who found himself in the hottest form.
Fresh off a top 10 finish in the HotelPlanner Tour’s Irish Challenge and another made cut in last-week’s Finnish Challenge, McBride tackled the South Course on day one, and though it was proving a little easier than the neighbouring North, he managed to go two strokes lower than his nearest challenger.
Starting on the iconic par-5 seventh, he eased his way into the round and opened his birdie account on nine before going one better in eagling the 10th. Further birdies on 14 and 16 – both par-4s – were followed by another birdie on the par-5 18th, which saw him open up a two-stroke gap at the top of the leaderboard.
From there, he parred his way home, signing for a bogey-free, six-under 66.
“I missed two short birdie putts on my first two holes and then I just played really well from there on in,” McBride said. “I felt like it was quite gettable though, to be honest. The tees were up on some of the holes, but yeah, it’s still a really good score.
“I think pros in general love bogey-free rounds because, unless you’re Scottie Scheffler, you don’t have too many of them.”
Two strokes further back are Ronan Mullarney and Jonathan Caldwell who shot matching four-under 68s in the morning wave on the South Course, and defending champion Cormac Sharvin and England’s Philip Kelly who produced the rounds of the day on the Palmer North Course.
“I think I would’ve liked a couple lower, but I’m sure everyone does,” Mullarney said. “But I’ve played here a lot – the South Course more than the North – but it’ll be a really good test tomorrow.”
Sharvin took care of each of the par-5s, trading a single bogey and a single birdie on the other 14, and he’ll fancy his chances of a successful defence when he moves across to the South Course with an early tee time on Tuesday.
Simon Thornton, who recently claimed his fourth Irish PGA Championship victory and followed up with another win in the Fred Daly Pro-Am at Balmoral Golf Club in Belfast, is lurking with intent in a share of sixth place at -3.
The Newcastle man carded 15 pars and three birdies but felt that he could’ve gone a couple of strokes lower.
“Well, apparently the scorecard never lies,” he said, “but yeah, I played lovely, and I have to say I’m a little disappointed coming off because I didn’t hole the putts when I had my chances, but I did miss a couple of greens in the wrong places and had some great chips – my short game got me out of trouble, to be fair.
“But listen, it’s all to play for tomorrow. The rough is apparently a bit juicier across the water on the other course, but I’m playing well and if I keep playing the way I’m playing, touch wood, I can stay up near the top.”
Alongside Thornton is Richard O’Donovan who put a slow start behind him and birdied four of the final eight holes, with 2024 Elavon Order of Merit winner Tim Rice, major winner and Solheim Cup star Georgia Hall, and Englishmen Paul Nessling and Richard Wallis rounding out the top 10 in a share of eighth at -2.
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