Tag: Irish Open

With one more round to go, Aaron Rai is in the driver’s seat.

Rai found himself tied for first with Dean Burmester and Jordan Smith after the inaugural round of this year’s Irish Open. But, after shooting a 3-under 67 on Saturday, he now owns a one-shot lead on the rest of the field.

The 25-year old has remained strong all weekend at Galgorm Golf Resort in Northern Ireland, holding a share of the lead after each of the first two rounds. He bounced back from an even-par 70 on Friday to assume sole possession of first place at 8 under.

“I was pleased with the round overall,” said Rai, who made up for his two bogeys with five birdies. “The course doesn’t play easy, even in easy conditions today, and it’s always a little different going out in the final group and being co-leader going into day three. It was nice to be able to play with that and to play relatively freely and play solid today.”

If Rai can secure the win, he would be the first Englishman since Sir Nick Faldo in 1992 to lead the Irish Open after all four rounds. He would also join a winner’s circle that includes Faldo, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam and Rory McIlroy.

“It’d be incredible,” Rai said about potentially adding his name to that star-studded list. “Any title on the European Tour is fantastic, the Irish Open has an illustrious history, it’s a huge event, it always has been. I want to put that out of my mind going into tomorrow.

“I’ll just hope to try and do the same kind of things and see where it puts us.”

Out to rain on Rai’s parade are a host of worthy opponents led by a hard-charging maverick: Maverick Antcliff, that is. The 27-year old Australian had to play the last eight holes of his second round on Saturday morning (along with 26 others) due to a 90-minute frost delay the day before.

He did so in dramatic fashion, salvaging consecutive bogeys at the 14th and 15th before making an eagle on the last hole.

Antcliff’s third round was nothing to write home about: four birdies and three bogeys for a 2-under 68. But it was enough to keep him one back of Rai going into the last round.

Burmester has fallen back down to Earth after an impressive opening round. He shot 71 on Friday to relinquish his share of the lead, and followed it up with a 68. The South African remains within striking distance, T-3 at 6-under with Sweden’s Oscar Lengden and Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond.

Rai’s countryman Toby Tree is in the hunt as well. He and Australia’s Lucas Herbert are T-6 at 5 under. First round co-leader Smith is one back of them at 4 under, along with John Catlin and Justin Harding.

The final round of the Irish Open will commence Sunday at 3:26 a.m. ET. Rai and Antcliff, however, are scheduled for the event’s final tee time at 7:50 a.m.

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It’s a logjam atop the leaderboard at the European Tour’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Open as three competitors—Dean Burmester, Jordan Smith and Aaron Rai—are tied for the lead. Each man shot an opening round 5-under par 65 at the Galgorm Castle Golf Club in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

South Africa’s Burmester got off to a fast start early in the day and found himself at 7-under after 12 holes. At that point, he had a chance to join Oliver Fisher as the only men in European Tour history with a round of 59. Liam Johnston came close on Sept. 10, posting a 61 at the Portugal Masters.

Alas, it was not to be, and a double bogey at No. 17 torpedoed Burmester’s chances of achieving the elusive mark.

“For 16 holes, I played flawless golf pretty much,” said the 31-year old. “I didn’t really miss a shot.

“A couple of great up and downs kept the momentum going and then unfortunately on 17 I fell asleep over a three-footer but other than that, honestly I played great.”

Burmester’s misstep left the door open for someone else to catch him. Smith and Rai did just that.

A 27-year old Englishman, Smith had managed five top-40 finishes in eight events since the COVID-19 shutdown, and he kept things rolling at Galgorm Castle. In fact, he was one of only two players to avoid a bogey, and his five birdies catapulted him into a share of the clubhouse lead.

“I am happy with today,” Smith said. “I need to go work on my driving a little bit and holing out but apart from that, very happy.

“It is all weather dependent. If it stays like this it is going to be a challenge for everyone including myself, so more of the same, more good golf, and see how it goes.”

Rai, also from England, is the youngest of the three leaders. At 25 years of age, he made a relatively late charge with four birdies on the back nine. Although Rai was unable to take command on the par-5 18th, he was the only other player to go bogey-free on the day.

Sole possession of fourth place belongs to yet another Englishman, Toby Tree. His up-and-down performance, which included four birdies, two bogeys and an eagle, was ultimately good enough for 4-under par at 66.

Irish amateur James Sugrue is playing well on home soil. He leads his countrymen with a first-round 67 and sits T-3 with four other athletes: John Catlin (United States), Stephen Gallacher (Scotland), and the Swedish duo of Oscar Lengden and Rikard Karlberg.

Burmester will again start early at 2:40 a.m. ET, the first of Friday’s tee times. Smith will follow at 4:45 a.m., and Rai much later at 8:55 a.m. Golf Channel’s coverage will run from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

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