Woodroofe pulls clear after round two at East of Ireland

Dun Laoighaire’s Colin Woodroofe is three shots clear at the halfway stage of the East of Ireland.

While many struggled on day two at County Louth, Woodroofe plotted his way to a second round 70 to reach five under. Portmarnock’s Jack Pierse is his closest challenger on two under. Defending champion Paul O’Hanlon is just two shots further back and very much in the hunt going into the penultimate round.

Woodroofe’s 70 was the joint lowest round of the day at Baltray. Sharing the lead overnight with Pierse, David Foy and Alan Lowry, 22-year-old Woodroofe was alone at the top on Saturday evening.
Pierse fell back to minus two following a 73 while Lowry (76) and Foy (77) dropped out of the picture for now at least. Cork’s Gary O’Flaherty posted a 72 to remain one under and is tied for third along with Castle’s Daniel Holland and Cian Geraghty from Laytown & Bettystown – both of whom carded 73.

With 36 holes remaining, Woodroofe’s lead is by no means insurmountable but he will be hard to catch if he continues in the same vein. Beginning his second round on the back nine, Woodroofe quickly made gains at 13 and 15. Minimising mistakes was key and although he dropped a shot at 16, Woodroofe had just two bogeys on the card. Further birdies at the second and the fourth ensured a second successive sub-par round and leaves him three clear of Jack Pierse going into round three.

Pierse had to settle for 73 as he coughed up two bogeys in his five holes. He began brightly, making birdie at 11 – his second – but that was to be the highlight as he reeled off 11 straight pars. Dropped shots at five and eight left him three behind the leader.
There were 22 players in red figures after the opening day, however, just five remain under par at the halfway stage. Cork’s Gary O’Flaherty is alongside Daniel Holland (Castle) and Cian Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown) at minus one. Defending champion Paul O’Hanlon enjoyed a spectacular start on day one, making five birdies in his first six holes. His second round was mundane by comparison, just one birdie mixed with two bogeys, but a second round 73 keeps him in the hunt.

O’Hanlon is tied for sixth along with Castle teenager Robert Moran. North West’s Kyle McCarron moved inside the top 10 following a fine round of 70. McCarron had just two pars on the front nine, reaching the turn in 34 with five birdies on his card. Now one over for the tournament, McCarron is tied eighth along with  Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little), Mark Power (Kilkenny),  Des Morgan (Carton House) and Alan Lowry (Esker Hills).
The top 42 and ties will progress to Monday’s final round after a 54-hole cut. As things stand, the cut stands at plus four (148).

Scores after Round 2
139 C Woodroofe (Dun Laoghaire), 69, 70
142 J Pierse (Portmarnock), 69, 73
143 G O’Flaherty (Cork), 71, 72; D Holland (Castle), 70, 73; C Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown), 70, 73
144 P O’Hanlon (Carton House ), 71, 73; R Moran  (Castle), 71, 73
145 K McCarron (North West), 75, 70; J Mc Donnell (Forrest Little), 72, 73; M Power (Kilkenny), 71, 74; D Morgan (Carton House), 70, 75; A Lowry (Esker Hills), 69, 76
146 G Lenehan (Portmarnock), 75, 71; S Healy (The Royal Dublin), 75, 71; S Sweeney (USA), 74, 72; C Rafferty (Dundalk), 74, 72; S Bleakley (Shandon Park), 73, 73; L Donnelly (Kilkenny), 72, 74; R Brazill (Naas), 72, 74; J MURPHY (Kinsale), 72, 74; R Pierse (Grange), 72, 74; G Fitzmaurice (Balcarrick), 71, 75; J Carvill (Banbridge), 71, 75; P Murray (Clontarf), 71, 75; D Foy (Laytown & Bettystown), 69, 77
147 G Mungovan (Headfort), 73, 74; J KNIPE (Royal Portrush), 73, 74; B MURRAY (Waterford Castle), 71, 76; P Coughlan (Moate), 71, 76; R Black (Hilton Templepatrick), 71, 76; J Hickey (Cork), 70, 77
148 R Williamson (Holywood), 75, 73; T Ford (Co. Sligo), 74, 74; M MORRISSEY (Co. Sligo), 74, 74; S Doyle (The Island), 74, 74; R KNIGHTLY (The Royal Dublin), 74, 74; R Dutton (Tandragee), 74, 74; T McLarnon (Massereene), 73, 75; E Farrell (Ardee), 73, 75; G Collins (Rosslare), 72, 76; J Greene (Portmarnock), 72, 76; S FLANAGAN (Co. Sligo), 72, 76; C Denvir (Elm Park), 71, 77; G Carr (Mullingar), 71, 77
149 J McVicker (Knock Golf Club ), 77, 72; A Maguire (Laytown & Bettystown), 77, 72; D Reddan Jnr (Nenagh), 76, 73; M MCKINSTRY (Cairndhu), 75, 74; K LeBlanc (island), 75, 74; C BUTLER (Kinsale), 74, 75; M Norton (Belvoir Park), 74, 75; A HILL (Athenry), 74, 75; P O’Brien (Co. Louth), 74, 75; E Leonard (Wentworth/Killiney), 74, 75; J Sugrue (Mallow), 74, 75; B Anderson (The Royal Dublin), 73, 76; G Ward (Kinsale), 73, 76; J Whelan (Newlands), 72, 77
150 H Foley (The Royal Dublin), 78, 72; C Raymond (Newlands), 77, 73; M Boucher (Carton House), 76, 74; R Neville (The Links Portmarnock), 75, 75; W Small (Tandragee), 75, 75; E Griffin (Waterford), 75, 75; M Looby (Greystones), 73, 77; M O’Rourke (Royal Tara), 73, 77; G Lappin (Belvoir Park), 72, 78; R Kelly (Tuam), 72, 78; S Cullen (Slieve Russell), 72, 78; M Nolan (Delgany), 72, 78
151 W Russell (Clandeboye), 79, 72; A Grant (Dundalk), 78, 73; G McDermott (Carton House), 76, 75; J Fletcher (Warrenpoint), 75, 76; R Berkeley (Dun Laoghaire), 73, 78; P KERR (Royal Portrush), 72, 79; S O’Connor (Luttrellstown Castle ), 71, 80
152 J Brady (Rosslare), 77, 75; C Ryan (Dun Laoghaire), 76, 76; T Collins (Dun Laoghaire), 76, 76; Z Glynn (Bray), 74, 78; C O’CONNOR (Corrstown), 74, 78; M Kennelly (Athenry), 73, 79; D Coghlan (Portmarnock), 72, 80
153 P Carey (Nenagh), 80, 73; G Dunne (Co. Louth), 77, 76; R Hynes (The Royal Dublin), 76, 77; D Brophy (castleknock), 75, 78; D Brennan (Shannon), 74, 79; S GARRETT (Portstewart), 74, 79; K Murphy (Charlesland), 73, 80
154 D Coyle (Portmarnock), 81, 73; C Nolan (Galway), 78, 76; M KANE (Larne), 78, 76; M FITZSIMONS (Ardglass), 77, 77; G Bohill (Co. Louth), 77, 77; P Murphy (Rosslare), 77, 77; S Greenberg (Tandragee), 76, 78; N Grant (Shandon Park), 76, 78; J Walsh (Castle), 74, 80; A Hickey (Ballyhaunis), 72, 82
155 J FOX (Portmarnock), 82, 73; D Crawford (Bundoran), 78, 77; G Smyth (Clonmel), 76, 79; D Morley (Oughterard), 76, 79; A McDaid (Palmerstown Stud), 71, 84
156 S Mc Dermott (Co. Cavan), 84, 72; E Smith (Laytown & Bettystown), 80, 76; S Desmond (Monkstown), 79, 77; C Dullaghan (Greenore), 79, 77; I Lynch (Rosslare), 79, 77; T Hackett (The Royal Dublin), 78, 78; A DOWLING (Hermitage), 77, 79
157 G MCGRANE (The Royal Dublin), 82, 75; S Kinch (Hollystown), 79, 78; J McGinn (Laytown & Bettystown), 78, 79; S McGlynn (Portmarnock), 78, 79; D REIDY (Co. Sligo), 77, 80; L Grehan (Mullingar), 75, 82
158 E Murphy (Dundalk), 80, 78; J Doherty (Carton House), 78, 80
160 A Doran (Ardee), 84, 76; D BRADY (Co. Sligo), 82, 78
161 M Shanahan (Castlemartyr), 79, 82
162 P O’Sullivan (Old Conna), 82, 80; C Kelly (USA), 78, 84
163 D O’Neill (Carton House), 81, 82
164 D Smith  (Castle), 82, 82
WD R Cannon (Balbriggan)
RTD A Myles (Newlands); S Carter (The Royal Dublin); R McKinstry (Cairndhu)