John Ross Galbraith will take a share of the lead into the final round of the Clutch Pro Tour’s Rapsodo Open at Studley Wood Golf Club, but Irish hopes don’t rest on his shoulders alone as Robert Brazill, Alex Maguire and Paul McBride are firmly in the mix as well.
Whitehead’s Galbraith, who won the Harleyford Open on the circuit in late 2024, started round two on the 10th after carding an opening two-under 71. After three pars, he birdied four of the next six holes to make the turn at -4. It was a similar scenario on the front side, but this time he reeled off five birdies in the six-hole stretch to close and signed for a nine-under 64 that moved him to -11 and into a two-way tie for the lead with England’s Ryan Brooks.
Naas native Brazill opened with a five-under 68 and looked set to drop outside the top 10 after making four birdies and two bogeys in his first 16 holes. A grandstand finish awaited, however, and he eagled the par-5 17th then followed with a birdie on 18 to make a big push up the leaderboard and he goes into the final round trailing Galbraith and Brooks by one.
Maguire, already a winner on the Clutch circuit in 2026, followed his opening 69 with a five-under 68 to move into a six-way tie for eighth at -9, two behind the leaders, while McBride, who’s a shot further back at -8, has an opportunity to seal promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour should he find himself atop the leaderboard after the third and final round.
The Island man has already claimed two Clutch Pro victories in 2026, and a third would earn him a ‘battlefield promotion’ and the opportunity to compete on the HotelPlanner Tour for the remainder of the 2026 season with guaranteed status for 2027.
Dermot McElroy is tied for 24th at -7, while John Murphy birdied two of his final five holes to make the cut on the number at -4 and it could prove crucial at the end of the season in the race to secure the three HotelPlanner Tour cards on offer.
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