Ronan Mullarney backed up his opening two-under 68 by shooting the same again in round two of the Alps Tour’s Memorial Giorgio Bordoni by AON at Italy’s Golf Club La Pinetina in Como.
After capturing his maiden professional title at the Gosser Open a fortnight ago, the second placed player on the Alps Tour Order of Merit could go a long way to securing his graduation to the European Challenge Tour with another victory, but consistent high finishes may be enough with a win under his belt already.
Starting his round on the back nine, Mullarney would card matching sides of eight pars and a single birdie as he’d provisionally climb into the top five ahead of the afternoon wave. The red figures came at the par-4 12th and par-5 eighth holes, as he’d reel off 13 successive pars through the middle section of the round.
“It hammered down pretty much from when I finished yesterday until just as I was teeing off today,” Mullarney said. “We were actually holding umbrellas on the first tee but then it stopped and I got 18 dry holes again today but the course is very, very wet in spots.
“It’s a really nice course, but the rough is very thick so you have to hit the fairway and the greens are quite small with a lot of elevated shots so it’s very tricky. I played quite solid today, not driving the ball great, but the rest of my game is pretty good but I just left a few putts short today. Would’ve been a couple of shots better if I’d just gotten them to the hole.
If I give myself as many chances tomorrow as I did today then there should be a decent score in there, and I imagine I’ll be a few back so it’s about making as many birdies as I can tomorrow.”
He’s a few back indeed, as first-round leader and Order of Merit third-placed Kiet Van der Weele signed for a second-successive round of 63 to take strong control at -14. The Dutchman brings a seven-stroke lead into the final round, while Mullarney is one of seven players tied for seventh at -4.
Paul McBride and Paul Murphy both began their rounds at -1 after matching 69s on day one, and it was Malahide man McBride who fared the better in the early stages of round two as he’d cover the front nine in two-under, while Murphy would make the turn at one-over for the day.
Their fortunes were reversed on the inward nine, as McBride would trade a birdie with two bogeys and Murphy, despite a bogey at the 12th, would birdie three of the closing five to join McBride in the clubhouse at -2 for the tournament and tied for 21st.
James Sugrue, having shot a three-over 73 in round one, retired from the tournament, while Joseph Hanney missed the 36-hole cut.
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