Conor O’Rourke holds sole possession of the lead after a blustery opening round of the two-day PGA Open Series event at Carlow’s Deerpark Golf Course.
The K Club man made five birdies and one bogey in a four-under 66 that gives him a one-stroke lead over Banbridge’s Richard Kilpatrick.
“It’s a tricky course,” O’Rourke said afterwards. “You’ve got to be in position and if you’re out of position at all, you’ll struggle to get around the greens and make pars.
“I’d say I only hit driver two or three times. It’s literally get it in play, but on some of the downwind holes your 4-iron can go 300 yards with how firm it is, so you’re just trying to get it into the shorter stuff because the rough while it’s not heavy, you don’t have a whole lot of control out of it.
“I’m happy with the score though. I’ve not been as comfortable the last few weeks, so I had a little chat with my coach David Ruddy, and he’s helped me get things back in order a bit. So, yeah, I felt comfy coming today and looking forward to tomorrow.”
Kilpatrick, who won three consecutive PGA Pro-Ams in late June and early July, made five birdies and two bogeys enroute to his 67, and Richard O’Donovan at -2 is the only other player in red figures.
Sean O’Donoghue, Tara Delaney, Colm Moriarty, David Higgins, Andrew Hickey and Shane O’Neill all share fourth place at level-par, with Liam Grehan and current Elavon Order of Merit leader Simon Thornton among those tied for 10th at +1.
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