Moynihan’s Tour struggles continue with sixth missed cut looming

ROOKIE Gavin Moynihan admits he’s struggling to find form after an opening 75 left him in danger of a sixth straight missed cut at the Tshwane Open in South Africa.

The Mount Juliet touring professional (23) mixed three birdies with seven bogeys in a four-over-par round at Pretoria Country Club and lies five shots outside the projected cut mark in his sixth start since winning his European Tour card last year.

“My game is just not there at the moment,” the Dubliner confessed. “I’m just struggling to put 18 holes together.”

Louis de Jager (30) shot a bogey-free, seven-under-par 64 to lead by a stroke from a host of experienced Tour winners in fellow South African Thomas Aiken, Chilean Felipe Aguilar and American Julian Suri, with Moynihan tied for 143rd.

South Africans Shaun Norris and Combrinck Smit share fifth place after five-under 66s with another 17 players at four-under including 2015 champion George Coetzee.

In amateur golf, just five of Ireland’s 14 hopefuls made the matchplay stages of the respective Spanish Men’s and Ladies’ Amateur Championships.

In the men’s event at Real Club de Golf La Manga in Murcia, Naas’ Jonathan Yates and Massereene’s Tiarnan McLarnon defied stiff winds to make the top 32.

OPENING

Yates will face England’s world No

9 Gian Marco Petrozzi after he added a two-under 71 to his opening 79 to make it in ninth place on four-over 150.

McLarnon takes on France’s Thomas Dorier after he finished

18th on six-over 152 after rounds of

75 and 77. Dundalk’s Caolan Rafferty lost out to England’s Billy McKenzie after a countback (27 holes), finishing 33rd on eight-over

154 after a 77, with Mallow’s James Sugrue a shot further back after a

76.

Maynooth University’s Ronan Mullarney (73, 156), Castle’s Alex Gleeson (81, 158) and Robert Moran

(81, 163), and Kilkenny’s Mark Power (82, 164) also missed out.

In the Spanish Ladies’ Amateur Championship at Barceló Montecastillo Golf in Jerez de la Frontera, just one qualifying round was possible after high winds and torrential rain forced several suspensions in play.

Lisburn’s Paula Grant did her Curtis Cup selection hopes no harm when she qualified tied for seventh with a four-over 76 as defending champion Frida Kinhult from Sweden topped the 32 qualifiers with a 71.

Killarney’s Valerie Clancy and Lurgan’s Annabel Wilson made it in 30th and 31st respectively after

79s, but Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh (80) and Milltown’s Georgia Carr (88) missed out while Hermitage’s Ciara Casey retired. Tshwane Open, Sky Sports, 8.30