Relaxed Curley back on form
The 24-year-old international has been walking around with storm clouds hovering over his head for the past few weeks after disappointing performances in the Irish and Welsh Open strokeplay championships.
The Dubliner decided that he needed help and after sitting down for a chat with national coach Neil Manchip, discovered that a positive attitude to the game can work wonders.
While County Louth was bathed in sparkling sunshine on Saturday, it was lashed by vicious rainstorms in round two. Yet Curley still managed to card a second successive four-under par 68 to lead by four shots on eight under par 136 from Galway’s Eddie McCormack and the talented Mullingar stalwart Dessie Morgan.
It promises to be an interesting final day with the defending champion Paul Cutler of Portstewart bidding to come from six shots off the pace after a 74 left him tied for fourth with Castle’s Dara Lernihan (70) and Castlerock’s Aaron Kearney (69) on two-under.
“I was feeling a bit down in the mouth after missing the cut in the Irish Amateur Open and the Welsh Open,” confessed Curley, who enjoyed a remarkable purple patch early on his back nine when he birdied the par-five second, eagled the par-five third thanks to a 236-yard three iron to three feet and then birdied the fourth. “I wasn’t happy with my game at all.
“So I sat down for a chat with Neil Manchip and we decided that I just had to go out and enjoy the game and it’s made all the difference.”
The rough is invariably knee high for the “East” but it was made even tougher by the steady rain that hammered the 153 players who survived day one.
Curley hasn’t been unduly troubled so far and he would love nothing better than to break his championship duck over the final 36 holes having had his share of close calls in the “majors” in recent years. In 2007 he lost to eventual champion Gareth Shaw in the semi-finals of the North of Ireland Championship but his closest call came last season, when he was beaten by Pat Murray in the Irish Amateur Close final. His nearest challengers know a thing or two about major disappointment having lost their share of finals in recent years.
Mullingar man Morgan was defeated by Shane Lowry in the 2008 West of Ireland final at Rosses Point while Cavan native McCormack has twice come up short in matchplay finals.
In 2005 he lost to Rory McIlroy in the Irish Close decider at Westport and earlier this year he found another Ulster man too hot to handle as he went down to Banbridge’s Rory Leonard in the final of the “West”.
Leonard missed the four over par 148 cut by two shots after rounds of 74 and 75 but Leinster interprovincial Morgan was happy to add a one over par 73 to the 67 that gave him one stroke lead on Saturday night.
“It was a stress free 67 on Saturday,” said Morgan. “It was one of those great days when I hit nearly every fairway and green, holed the odd putt and everything seemed to go right for me.
“But everything was a real struggle today. It was very hard to make birdies out there today and I got wet to my skin.”
Morgan was level par for his round with two to play after getting up and down from 40 yards wide of the seventh green (his 16th) with a magnificent recovery to a foot.
“It was a day for hanging in there so that was the shot of the day,” added the Mullingar man.
“If you wander far off line here you get punished. But the rain made it so heavy, you could only get a wedge on the ball if you went a few feet into the deep stuff.”
No wonder he was annoyed to finish with a bogey at the ninth where he split the fairway but then bunkered his 160-yard approach and failed to get up and down.
Given the poor conditions, defending champion and Lytham Trophy holder Cutler was happy to card a 74 that leaves him within six shots of Curley going into the final 36 holes.
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