Local men Cameron Clark and Damian Mooney made significant strides up the leaderboard in the second round of the NI Legends at Galgorm where Steven Alker and David Drysdale share the lead.
Clark, playing in the town of his birth for the first time in his career, was a little frustrated after an opening two-over 74 and felt that he didn’t quite have his game. But that all changed in round two as he made six birdies in a five-under 67 that catapulted him into the top 20 and he enters the final round sharing 17th and chasing a maiden top-10 finish in his rookie campaign.
“I played really good today, hit the ball a lot better,” Clark said. “I did a bit of work before we left last night, particularly on the putting. I just couldn’t get it up to the hole yesterday and just sort of tried to go out today with a bit of a different mindset and I holed some nice puts, which was great.
“I am starting to put some good stuff together. I’ve been working really hard, and it’s starting to pay off a little bit, which is good, but I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as I can and I think there’s a lot to be said for that.
“And hopefully we’re here talking and smiling again after another good one tomorrow.”
Mooney was among the final groups to take the course on day two and after a three-putt bogey on the first, put together a very tidy back nine that included birdies on both par-3s and one at the last to turn in a four-under 68 that moved him into a share of 27th at one-under overall.
“I got off to an awfully bad with a three-putt at the first and didn’t birdie the first two par-5s with being on the green or around the edge of the green, so it was a bit poorer that way, but it seemed to click a wee bit coming in,” Mooney said. “I had two ‘2s’, and I birdied the last which is always nice.”
It was a day to forget for Gary Murphy who shot a 79 to fall to nine-over. The round did end on a high note however, as he recorded an eagle-three at the last, and he was the only man in the field to do so.
At the top of the leaderboard, Scotland’s Drysdale and New Zealander Alker are locked together and will go head-to-head for glory.
Both players sit at -10 after two rounds on the Castle Course, two clear of another Scot, Alastair Forsyth, and three ahead of Greg Owen, Anthony Wall, Phillip Archer and Thomas Gögele. A trio of English players – Peter Baker, Robert Coles and Matt Cort – are at -6. In total, there are no fewer than 15 players within five of the lead, ahead of what should be an exciting final day.
Overnight leader Alker – chasing a third consecutive victory after back-to-back wins on the PGA Tour Champions – matched his first-round 67 to reach double-digits under-par with 18 holes to play. He was quickly out of the blocks on Saturday morning, picking up three shots on his front nine and closing with a clutch 10ft birdie putt on the 18th hole to claim the clubhouse lead.
“Same score but I did it differently,” said Alker. “It actually felt like I hit the ball better today than yesterday and didn’t get the result, but that’s golf. Thankfully, I made it up at the end. Making that putt on 18 was big for the confidence for sure. I hit two shots in there and thought I’d be on the green, then hit a poor pitch — and to make that putt just makes lunch taste a bit better.
“Tomorrow I’ll just try to make some birdies — there are birdies out there, some par fives to get after. That’s the plan: take advantage of the par fives and see what happens. One more day to go and I’m in with a chance to win tomorrow so very pleased overall.”
Alker’s clubhouse lead lasted just a few minutes as Drysdale – playing with Peter Baker in the group behind – hit a stunning approach to the last to secure a closing birdie, also reach -10 and book his place in the last group for Sunday’s final round.
The Scot claimed a maiden win in Cambodia at the Vattanac Legends in November and enjoyed some strong results early in 2026 with a T6 at the Barbados Legends and solo second place in Greece at the Legends Tour Trophy, but since then has struggled for form. It’s been a different story in Northern Ireland this week, however, and he is the only man in the field to be bogey-free after two rounds.
“I didn’t actually know that, but there you go,” said Drysdale, who made almost 600 appearances on the DP World Tour. “It’s always good to be bogey-free. Yesterday was much tougher with the wind, so I felt like I played a bit better then, but I’m obviously very happy with that score after two days.”
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