Big blasting Leslie Walker stole Pádraig Harrington's thunder at Ladbrokes.com PGA Irish Championship as he fired a four-under-par 67 over the teak tough links at The European Club.
That shot the Dundalk Club pro to the top of the leaderboard one stroke ahead of defending champion Harrington who is aiming for his sixth success in the tournament and a hat-trick of wins.
"I played very nicely all day. It was solid golf and I used the driver six times - the four iron at a few holes. The course is set up very cautiously and you have to pick your shots. It's perfect for Pádraig in his preparation for defending the Open Championship," said Walker.
Four birdies and no bogeys decorated the big man's card. A sand-wedge to three feet set him off at the first with birdie three and he was on into blows at the long third for a four. Another birdie four was carved out with a chip to three feet at 13 and he made birdie three at 17 with a seven iron to six feet.
"That was after I made a good save at 16 when I got up and down from a trap.
Had I made bogey there it would have made a big difference but to make par and the n get a birdie was good," explained the overnight leader.
Harrington was quite pleased with his 68, due mainly to a good putting display. On the front nine, which he covered in two-under-33, he had six single putts and 12 in all.
"I struck the ball well last week (in the French Open) but the putting was poor. It is better to hole a few putts. I also got up-and-down a few times. I'm happy with the way I'm swinging the club but it is hard to take that on to the course," he reckons.
"I felt good over the putts today. The first six months last year I putted badly and made a change that worked. It was the same over the first six months of this year and I have now made the same change - a slight change of my grip on the putter and it has worked again.
"There is nowhere out there to hit the driver, I feel, so I used only it once today, at the 13th hole. The golf course is tight, the bunkers and rough narrow narrows it up. I'm not on automatic pilot yet," stressed the defending champion whose 68 is his first round in the 60s since the Irish Open.
He pencilled in a two at the second hole and a four at the long third he blasted out of sand to 10 feet and holed. He got up and down again at the sixth and at the 11th he steered a five wood and eight iron to feet for another birdie. At 14, he hit a sweet six iron to 12 feet for his fourth birdie but then bogeyed 17 after being in ferns and had to take a penalty drop.
Seamus McMonagle tossed up the chance of getting a spot in the British Open next week so that he would be fresh to play in his national championship and it could be a wise decision as he posted a 69 for third place - one shot ahead of six players in joint fourth position.
08 July, 2009