Harrington and McGinley fall off pace
PÁDRAIG HARRINGTON and Paul McGinley slipped back as Italy’s Andrea Pavan and Dane Lucas Bjerregaard snatched the halfway lead in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Harrington had four birdies and four bogeys in a 72 at Carnoustie, falling from third to 23rd on three-under, with McGinley (right) a shot further back after a 73 there. Pavan, who forced Harrington to settle for second in the D+D Real Czech Masters, fired a nine-under 63 at Kingsbarns to earn a share of the lead with Bjerregaard (65) on seven-under.
They lead by one from a three-strong group that features Tyrrell Hatton, who shot 66 at Carnoustie as he bids for a hattrick of wins in the $5 million event.
Shane Lowry shot 75 at Carnoustie to slip to three-over while Graeme McDowell (72) and Paul Dunne (73) are also outside the projected cut-line on five-over and seven-over respectively.
Tramore’s Robin Dawson got back to level with a 70 at Kingsbarns as Michael Hoey’s 72 at the Old Course left him on two-over.
At the PGA Tour’s Safeway Open, Seamus Power three-putted three times in a second successive 71 to teeter on the cut-line on two-under, eight shots behind clubhouse leaders Phil Mickelson (69) and Ryan Moore (67).
Mickelson was happy to be back in California and far from Le Golf National, which he described as “almost unplayable” due to its narrow fairways and thick rough.
Paul McBride fired a second successive 70 to lie three shots behind Portugal’s Ricardo Santos, Sweden’s Niklas Lemke and Scotland’s Calum Hill in the Monaghan Irish Challenge at Concra Wood.
They lead by a shot on seven-under par with McBride tied for eighth on four-under in the Team Ireland-supported event with Ruaidhri McGee one stroke further back after a joint-best-of-the-day 67.
Conor O’Rourke (two-under) and Gavin Moynihan (one-under) also made the twoover cut with Neil O’Briain (one-over), Niall Kearney and Kevin Phelan (both two-over).
Brendan McGovern shot an immaculate, two-under 70 to head the Irish challenge, five shots adrift of Austrian Markus Brier in a tie for 10th in the Farmfoods European Senior Masters at the Forest of Arden.
At the Symetra Tour Championship in Florida, Stephanie Meadow added a 69 to her opening 71 in her final event before she returns to the LPGA Tour next season. That left her 11 shots behind clubhouse leader Pavarisa Yoktuan of Thailand.
Leona Maguire was set to miss the projected level par cut by two strokes after a second round 75, meaning she’d be obliged to tee it up at Stage II of the Qualifying School from October 13-18.