Richard Kilpatrick blitzed Luttrellstown Castle in an incredible birdie barrage that vaulted him to the top of the leaderboard and to a two-stroke victory at the Luttrellstown Pro-Am.
The Banbridge man was in the afternoon wave in the shotgun start format and, beginning his round on the 17th, got off to a flying start with birdies on each of his first four holes – two par-4s and two par-5s. After slowing down a little and carding pars on each of the next four, he got back on the birdie train to post another hat-trick on seven, eight and nine and he only needed to pick up one further stroke over the closing seven to set a new course record.
That task was made tougher when he made his first bogey of the day on 10, but he got that shot back again on 12. Another bogey on 14 meant he made his way to the 16th and final hole needing to birdie to tie the record and he duly obliged with a birdie-three and posted seven-under which saw him finish two clear of Damian Mooney, Colm Moriarty and Liam Grehan.
It’s Kilpatrick’s second win of the campaign having tasted success at the Castle GC Pro-Am two weeks prior.
Mooney had an eagle and seven birdies in a round that also featured four bogeys and his impressive run of form had seen him rise to number two in the Elavon Order of Merit, with Moriarty and Kilpatrick just below.
Grehan, having just returned from South Africa where he’s been competing on the Sunshine Tour, was making his first start on the region, and he’ll make his second appearance at the Donegal Pro-Am on Friday and Saturday having won the event in impressive fashion in 2024.
Cahir Park’s Paul Eivers finished in solo fifth place at -4, while Simon Thornton, the reigning Elavon Order of Merit champion and current leader finished tied for sixth with Conor O’Rourke and David Higgins and sees his lead at the top of the rankings reduced.
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