Caolan Rafferty and Cathal MacCanna continue to share the lead at the halfway stage of the North of Ireland Amateur Open Championship at Portstewart Golf Club.
Both players carded rounds of 72 to lie on two-under-par ahead of Friday’s 36-hole finale and they timed their finishes well as they got in just before a huge deluge of rain saturated the later starters.
Rafferty endured a slow start. A clumsy three-putt from just short of the par-3 3rd cost him a bogey before he fell out of the co-lead with a bogey on the sixth.
The Dundalk man, birdied the seventh but dropped another shot on the eighth before awaking from his slumber with nine pars and a birdie on the par-5 13th.
Rafferty is aiming to become the first person ever to win all four provincial titles. The North proved elusive for Joe Carr, Barry Reddan and Mark Gannon while Hugh Foley couldn’t lay his hands on the East. Darren Clarke couldn’t clinch the West as the South got away from Garth McGimpsey, David Long and Arthur Pierse.
“Just played an average game of golf today,” said Rafferty after his round. Struggled from the start and a couple of really bad shots put me under pressure. It was nice to come home on the back nine and hold it together.
“Just trying not to make more of a mess than I already did. I found it tougher today than I did yesterday and the conditions were a lot worse for us yesterday morning. Just one of those rounds where everything was a struggle.
“Judging the wind was nearly impossible at times, that made it really tough. It’s going to be a grind for tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, MacCanna would have been forgiven for fading away after three bogeys in his first eight holes given that he is a novice at the top of championship leaderboards.
But the Carton House man, who is a student in St Andrews, showed real grit and determination to birdie two of his last three holes and keep his hopes alive.
Although he credits a timely coffee and sausage roll at the turn for his heroics.
“I actually thought I was a few behind because it was a slow day. Unchartered territory for me, it’s easy to change a lot of things up but I relied on my routines and systems and that levelled me out. It was a good finish, grabbed a coffee and sausage roll at the halfway house, good up and down on 10, knocked it to a foot on 11.
“Didn’t have my ball striking game but stayed patient and got it around and that’s all that matters I am pleasantly surprised to be up there after being three-over early on.”
The 23-year-old is relishing a final group tussle with Rafferty.
“Just keep doing what I’m doing and give it my best shot.”
Despite seemingly more favourable conditions early in the day, scoring proved tough once again with just five players remaining in red figures after 36 holes.
The big move came from Monkstown’s Edward Farr who carded a three-under 68 to lie in sixth place on level-par and just two off the pace.
A shot ahead of him are David Kitt (72) and David Shiel (71) both of whom are chasing their maiden championships while Huddersfield’s Dylan Shaw Radford is also on one-under.
Tandragee’s James Hewitt and Castlerock’s Andrew Mulholland are on one-over with Portumna’s Sam Murphy and sixteen-year-old Galgorm star Harris Fleming on two-over.
Former West of Ireland winner Keith Egan has climbed 32 places to eleventh on three-over after a round of 70 and he is alongside Dylan Keating, David Reddan, James Marriott, Paddy Quill and Padraig O’Dochartaigh.
The cut fell at seven-over with the top-36 and ties progressing.
Scoring HERE
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