Paul McBride’s bid to join the HotelPlanner Tour is alive and well after The Island man opened with a five-under 64 at the Clutch Pro Tour’s The Hertfordshire Classic to sit one off the lead.
With two wins already under his belt on the circuit in 2026, the current Order of Merit leader would gain automatic promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour with a third victory and he signalled his intent with two birdies in his first three holes having started on the 10th.
Back-to-back bogeys on 13 and 14 dropped him back to level-par and he remained on that number until the second where a birdie kickstarted his challenge and he went on to add another on three, then two more back-to-back on five and six before closing out with his seventh birdie of the round on the last.
It leaves him in a five-way tie for third place at -5, with only English pair Sam Potter and Connor Worsdall ahead on -6.
Alex Maguire is next best of the Irish in a tie for 12th at -3, with John Ross Galbraith and John Murphy tied for 32nd at -1.
Marc Boucher is on the provisional cutline at level-par, while Robert Brazill and Daniel Mulligan need to shoot red-figured numbers if they’re to see final-round action as the sit on +2.
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