With four Irishmen in the hunt for victory at the Clutch Pro Tour’s Rapsodo Open at Studley Wood, Alex Maguire finished strongest but came up three shots shy as England’s Jon Hopkins staged a smash and grab.
Maguire’s T5 finish was enough to see him leapfrog Paul McBride into second place on the Order of Merit with four events remaining on the 2026 schedule.
The Mornington man improved each day, shooting a 69 on Tuesday, a 68 on Wednesday, before closing out with a six-under 67 in Thursday’s final round. It was a round of two halves, however, as chances went begging on the front nine and he turned at level-par having made just one birdie – on the 9th – and one bogey.
That birdie kickstarted his charge and he followed up with another at 10, then reeled off three-in-a-row from the 12th before finishing with back-to-back birdies.
McBride finished tied for 16th at -11 after a two-under 70 on the final day, but it’ll be John Ross Galbraith who’ll be the most disappointed. He began the day tied for the lead after a bogey-free, nine-under 64 in round two catapulted him to the top of the board.
He could only manage a one-under 72 on the final day, bogeying two of his opening nine and failing to take advantage of either of the par-5s and turned at +2 with his chances all but gone. He regrouped to play the back nine in -3, finishing with back-to-back birdies, but a T12 finish was disappointing given the position he’d put himself in after 36 holes.
Robert Brazill’s final round was equally disappointing as the Naas man managed to card six birdies but made four bogeys and a quad to card a two-over 75 and fall to a share of 29th at -8 where he was joined by John Murphy who finished the week strongly with a four-under 69.
Dermot McElroy completed the Irish contingent and he closed with a one-over 74 to end the week tied for 44th at -6.
Murphy remains in sixth place on the Order of Merit, and he, McBride and Maguire have lots to play for over the closing stretch.
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