Irish Adrift at EuroPro Final

Michael McGeady carded an opening round 69 at the 888Poker.com PGA Europo Tour Championship on Tuesday and showed no signs of fatigue from Roganstown on Sunday, where he emerged as Irish PGA Championship, in what was a close contest. 

A three under par round at the Prince's Club in Kent came without loss - after three birdies before the turn - on holes, 2, 4 and nine. His seven way share of 7th reflects a tight leaderboard after round one, with four strokes separating the group from the leader. 

At the end of each season the top five players on the Order of Merit progress to the Challenge Tour, meaning there is more than just the £15,000 winner’s cheque to play for this week.

Paul Grannell shot his best round of the season to lead by two strokes on seven under at the end of the first round. The 28 year old carded a 65 on the opening day of the final event of the 2013 season, and is trailed by four golfers who share second on five under.

Simon Lilly (Wellingborough), Zack Saltman (Archerfield Links Golf Club), William Harrold (Sheringham Golf Club) and Shaun McAllister (Craigielaw Golf Club) all shot 67 and Paul Shields (Kirkhill Golf Club) is one behind in sixth on -4.

Grannell (Vale Royal Abbey) hit eight birdies on Tuesday, with his only blemish a six on the par-five seventh.

“I like links golf, I have always had good success on links courses, as an amateur you play a lot of links golf,” he said.

“It equals my lowest ever tournament round of golf, and it is my lowest round of the year which is always nice to do, especially in the last tournament.

“I have had top 20s in my last three tournaments and two of those going down the closing holes I have been in contention. If I can carry on the form I have been showing then I would like to think I will have a chance.”

Grannell is currently 22nd on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit and only a win at Prince’s will push him into the all-important top five.

“I am not thinking of any kind of result,” he said. “I am thinking purely of what I have been working on with my coaches. I didn’t know that other guys were at five under until I finished.

“I will do my best to avoid leaderboards for the rest of the week but it is difficult when you walk past them.”

At the end of each season the top five players on the Order of Merit progress to the Challenge Tour, meaning there is more than just the £15,000 winner’s cheque to play for this week.

George Woolgar (level, T31) leads the Tour rankings, with Daniel Gavins (-2, T14), Oliver Farr (-1, T22), Dave Coupland (level, T31) and Paul McKechnie (-3, T7) completing the current top five. Only Woolgar and Gavins have already secured their playing rights for next season’s Challenge Tour.

Time Rice signed for 70 and holds a share of fourteenth place overnight.

Ruaidhri McGee was three strokes further adrift after a mixed first day.

Colm  Moriarty carded a 73, despite an eagle three on the par 6 fifteenth hole, to lie 40th along with Paul Cutler - who ended level par after giving back all four birdies to bogeys either side of the turn.

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McGeady's Poker Challenge

PGA Europro Tour

Irish PGA Champion Michael McGeady tees of on Tuesday at the fianl event of the 2013 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour season, which draws to a close at Prince’s Golf Club iN Kent. The Order of Merit’s top 60 players will take part in the £60,000 888poker.com Tour Championship.

At the end of the week the top five on the Order of Merit will receive Challenge Tour cards for the 2014 season, putting them just one step away from the European Tour.

Colm Moriarty, Ruairdhr mcgtee, Stage 1 European Q School winner, Tim Rice and Paul Cutler are the other irish entries. 

George Woolgar and Daniel Gavins have already secured their places on the second-tier tour but remain locked in a battle to end the season as the tour’s number one, while Oliver Farr, Dave Coupland and Paul McKechnie will need a solid final tournament in order to maintain their places in the top five.

Any one of the 57 entrants at Prince’s could leave the Kent coast in the Order of Merit top five come Thursday evening, ensuring a dramatic end to a fantastic season on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour.

Tour Director of Operations Daniel Godding said: “We’ve upped the prize fund by 50% compared to the regular-season events and I know that means there will be one more big twist to end a dramatic season on the tour.

“Prince’s is a really good test of golf, and whoever wins the £15,000 first prize really will have earned it. I was there last week and the course is looking great. The players are in for a treat but so too is everybody who comes down to watch.”

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Guiney Passes First Q Test

John Daniel Guiney produced an exceptional finish to four days of grueling play at Frilford Heath to move into the second stage of qualification for a European Tour card.

The Ballybunion man appeared to be in a hopeless position after rounds of 73 and 72 earlier in the week at the start of the first stage, but he roared into top gear to return 67 on Thursday and 69 yesterday for an aggregate of 281 seven-under-par.

In the end he was five strokes inside the cut-off point and can now look forward to heading to Spain next month for the second stage.

Liam Bond again found his name at the top of the leaderboard on the fourth and final day. The Welshman closed with a round of 71 to finish top of the pile on 12 under par alongside the overnight leader Laurie Canter (75) and his fellow Englishman Jack Senior, who signed off with a 70.

Perhaps the most eye-catching display of the day was that of English amateur Nathan Kimsey, who finished fourth on 11 under par after firing a flawless round of 65 in Oxfordshire.

Amateur Brian Casey, Shane Franklin, Mike Kelly and Thomas Conran were already out of contention having failed to make the cut after day three..

In France as Muskerry's Niall Turner flopped badly when it mattered most, slumping to a 77 for a 286 total, two strokes outside the cut-off point and 14 behind winner Wes Homan Jnr of the United States.

Homan Jnr coasted to victory in The European Tour’s Qualifying School First Stage Section D at Golf d’Hardelot, carding a closing round of 66 to finish five shots clear of the field on 12 under par. 

The American led home a total of 27 qualifiers from the northern France venue thanks to a stunning back nine of 30 which included five unanswered birdies.

Homan Jnr was followed home by South African Louis De Jager and England’s Ben Evans, who carded respective rounds of 70 and 71 to finish tied second on seven under par.

The group of players finishing one shot back in a tie for fourth included Challenge Tour champion Floris De Vries of The Netherlands (70) and overnight leader Haydn Porteous of South African, who laboured to a round of 73 but still comfortably progressed to the Second Stage.

Other successful qualifiers include former European Tour stalwarts François Delamontagne of France and Welshman Garry Houston, who finished tied tenth and joint 17th respectively, whilst perhaps the performance of the day belonged to Ricki Neil-Jones, who squeezed in under the level par qualifying mark courtesy of a superb round of 66.

Limerick's Tim Rice was well down the field in joint 56th place after a 76 gave him a total of six -over-par 290.

Richard Kilptarick failed to make the round three cut.

A total of 29 qualifiers progressed to the Second Stage including South African Brandon Stone, who made a stunning start to his professional career with a top ten finish at the BMW International Open in June in what was his first appearance since leaving the amateur ranks.

Turner Takes to Q School

Niall Turner produced a good second round of golf at European Tour Qualifying School at Golf D’Hardelot in France after the Muskerry man fired a 67,  including five birdies. This effort added to a first round 69 put him at six-under par and within the qualifying bracket.

Turner is four shots off leader, South Africa’s Haydn Porteous, whose carded a 62 put him 10-under par at the half-way mark.

Porteous notched nine birdies in a flawless display in Hardelot to leap to the head of affairs on ten under par, four shots clear of De Jager with a 71.

One shot off the lead were Frenchman François Delamontagne, who has 207 European Tour appearances under his belt, and Scotsman Paul Doherty, brother of Challenge Tour regular Jack, who struggled to a 76 at Frilford Heath.

Tim Rice of Limerick has a chance of making it through after his second consecutive par 71 left him in a share of 29th position.

Richard Kilpatrick may have left himself with too much to do after a second round 75 put him in a tie of 61st place with four-over par.

In the event being held at Frilford Heath in Abingdon, Irish hopes are fading with Ballybunion’s John-Daniel Guiney’s 72 leaving him on one-over for the tournament and a share of 47th place probably the best hope.

Laurie Canter continued his impressive form on day two adding a round of 70 to his opening 65 to maintain his advantage at Frilford Heath.

The former amateur star mixed five birdies with three bogeys at the Oxfordshire venue to climb to nine under par and lead by one shot from his fellow Englishmen Jack Senior (68) and Curtis Griffiths, whose six-birdie round of 67 was the joint lowest of the day. 

Griffiths’ effort was matched by Liam Bond, who led at the midway stage of the ISPS Handa Wales Open at The Celtic Manor Resort in August. Bond’s round of 67 carried the Welshman to six under par and gave him every chance of repeating his feat of 12 months ago, when he won the Qualifying School First Stage at Frilford Heath. 

Headfort’s Brian Casey and Mike Kelly of Kildare had rounds of 70 and 71 respectively to leave them on two-over and a share of 54th position.

Meanwhile, Galway’s Shane Franklin hit 80 in his second round to put him with little chance of qualifying.

Thomas Conran is in 101st place after his 78.

With 102 players competing at each venue this week and only the top 24 and ties progressing to the Second Stage, the competition is sure to be intense over the final two rounds.

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McGee Slips to Second

Ruaidhri McGee signed for a round of 70 on Thursday to slip to second place of the PGA Europro Tour's Clipper Logistics Championship at Moor Allerton Golf Club, after a promising start of 65 on Wednesday.

The Rosapenna man bogeyed the par 5 fifth and the fifteenth, in what has been a good week for McGee having won the European Tour Q School Stage One qualifier last Friday.

Tim Rice was three places further back after second round 69.

Michael McGeady was unable to match his first round 67 and ended the day in a share of 16th place following his round of 73.

Neil O'Briain of Old Conna Golf Club enters the final round in 40th place after his ceodn round 69.

Ryan O’Neill will take a three-stroke lead into the final round of the Clipper Logistics Championship at Moor Allerton Golf Club on Friday, as he bids to make it into the top 60 on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit.

The Wigan golfer celebrated his 25th birthday with a six-under-par 65 to top the leaderboard on ten under after 36 holes. 

Billy Hemstock, Ruaidhri McGee, and Greg Payne share second on seven under.

The Clipper Logistics Championship is the final event of the regular schedule, after which only the top 60 will be invited to play the888poker.com Tour Championship at Prince’s next month. O’Neill (Penwortham Golf Club) is currently 93rd on the Order of Merit and knows he is likely to need a top-five finish to earn his place in the season finale.

“I need a really good finish as the season hasn’t gone to plan as yet,” he said. “I have done the maths and it is doable so we will have to wait and see.

“My putting has been really good so far this week. Hopefully it continues as the greens are tricky. There are some slopes in there so if you can get on the right side of the green with your approach you can be a bit more aggressive with the putts.

“You have to pick you lines and go for it. You have to attack the pins enough because it is soft and you can get it relatively close. You have to be on the right side of the green - that is the key.

“I always go in to tournaments thinking I will do well but it doesn’t always happen that way. You can feel good about your game but sometimes something just doesn’t click.

“It can be hard to keep focused on your job when it isn’t quite going for you, it can be frustrating. I came here for a practice round last week and that has definitely helped.

“I took golf up quite seriously when I was released by Wigan Athletic Football Club when I was 16. I have always loved playing golf and played as a hobby from about 13.”

A cut to the leading 50 players plus ties has now been made with all golfers whose 36-hole score is one over par or better proceeding to play the final round on Friday, September 27.

Richard Weldon misses the cut after carding a 78 on Thursday.

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Paul Doherty Leads Concra Wood

Paul Doherty shot a second-round 70 to take a one-stroke advantage into the final round of the Kingspan Concra Wood Open, the latest event on the 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour.

The Scotsman moved to five under after 36 holes while Marcus Armitage (Howley Hall GC) is one off the pace after shooting the day’s best score, a five-under 67. William Harrold is joined by last year’s Kingspan Concra Wood Open winner Billy Hemstock and Limerick’s Tim Rice on three under in a tie for third.

Doherty (Vale Hotel) had shared the lead with Colm Moriarty (Glasson Hotel and Golf Club) on three under par following Wednesday’s first round, but the Irishman shot a four-over 76 on day two and is now tied 19th.

After a one-hour delay due to fog, joint overnight leader Doherty teed off on the tenth tee but bogeyed the 14th to drop to two under. Back-to-back birdies on the 16th and 17th saw him take his second-round card below par and a four on the par-five first had him at five under, although that was short-lived when his second bogey of the round came on the following hole.

However, Doherty found one more par breaker on the seventh and his clubhouse lead was never taken.

His closest challenger at the start of Friday’s final round will be Armitage. The Englishman is playing his first 888poker.com PGA EuroPro Tour event of the main season after finishing tied 33rd at Qualifying School.

He went into the second round one over but quickly found form, making five birdies before the turn. A bogey at the second, having started on the tenth, was only a brief setback before a sixth birdie of the round was recorded on the fourth.

Hemstock (Teignmouth Golf Club), carded a one-under 71 on day two and is just two strokes behind Doherty as he looks to defend the title he won by play-off at Concra Wood last year.

Two birdies on his last three holes took Rice to three under, while Harrold (Sheringham Golf Club) fired a second-round 70 to manoeuvre himself into a tie for third.

Ahead of the final round a cut to the leading 50 players plus ties has been made. A total of 53 golfers, whose 36-hole score is five over par or better, will play the final round in a bid to claim the £10,000 winner’s cheque and a brand new Motocaddy trolley.

Spectator entry to the course is free throughout the week.

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