Local member James McParland and former runner-up Aidan Grenham will take a share of the Gross Stroke Play lead into Wednesday’s final round of the ISPS Handa Irish Open for Golfers with Disabilities after opening with five over par rounds of 76 at Roganstown.
Roganstown is once again hosting the fifth edition of the championship, with 50 players teeing up in testing conditions on Tuesday. Strong winds proved a challenge throughout the morning before lightning forced a suspension of play midway through the afternoon.
McParland and Grenham, who were among the early starters, completed their rounds before the weather disruption and will head into the final day tied at the top of the Gross Stroke Play standings.
The pair also share the lead in Sports Class ST3, while Paul O’Kelly (Portmarnock) leads Sports Class ST2 and Adam Dalton (The Royal Jersey) tops the Sports Class ST1 standings.
Caolan Munnelly (Tullamore) leads the Sports Class IN, while Ian St John (Tramore) and Patrick Morgan (Elmgreen) top the Sports Class SIT and Sports Class VI respectively.
In the net competitions, Cathy Fitzgerald (Killeen Castle) leads both the Net Stroke Play and the Women’s Overall Net after an impressive net 68, seeing the Killeen Castle golfer secure 39 points.
Marty McGrath (Kilrea) secured 41 Stableford points to lead both the Stableford and Men’s Overall Net divisions.
McParland struggled in the early part of his round, carding double bogeys on the third and the seventh, but he found his rhythm on the back nine. Birdies on 10, 13 and 16 helped the Roganstown golfer battle back into a share of the lead heading into Wednesday’s final round.
“Conditions were tough out there, but I held on,” said McParland.
“I got off to a bad start but held it together and just kept swinging easy. It’s a good solid score and I’m happy enough. I’ll go into tomorrow with a smile anyway and give it the best I can.”
“Hopefully conditions are a bit better, but I’ll just come out and give it the best I can.”
Grenham also had to battle back after carding two double bogeys of his own on the fifth and the eighth. A birdie on 10 helped steady the ship and the Ballinasloe golfer played the back nine in level par to join McParland at the top of the leaderboard.
Having finished as runner-up to Bradley Smith at the inaugural ISPS Handa Irish Open for Golfers with Disabilities in 2022, Grenham is hoping he can draw on that experience as he chases a maiden Gross Stroke Play title.
“That year I was leading going into it and got off to a pretty poor start. I was four behind playing 17, had a hole in one, got it back to two and I finished one behind,” said Grenham.
“I know the good golf is in there, just try and cut out some of the mistakes. Keep hitting fairways and hitting good shots into the greens. If I can hit another 13 or 14 greens tomorrow, I think I should be in good shape.”
“I haven’t won a Gross Stroke Play yet in any of the events, so to get one here would be special.”
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