Murray hoping to fulfil Eastern promise

LIMERICK’S Pat Murray is hoping to find a “spark” at Baltray today that might light up his challenge for the East of Ireland title.

The 39-year-old Tipperary native added a three-under-par 69 to his opening 75 to go into the final 36 holes tied for ninth place, just four strokes adrift of pacesetter and Walker Cup hopeful Alan Dunbar on level par 144.

Joint runner-up behind Paul Cutler in last month’s Irish Amateur Close at Shannon, Murray is frustrated that his excellent play from tee to green hasn’t been rewarded so far.

But he reckons that patience is the key and hopes it might pay off with a couple of low rounds in a championship where he was runner up to Ken Kearney 10 years ago.

“The game has been there all year but I need to be patient,” said Murray after hitting 17 greens in regulation. “It’s frustrating to play that kind of golf and not to convert it into good scores, but it will come.”

He went out in three under par by sandwiching a birdie four at the long sixth between a brace of birdie twos at the fifth and seventh, where he holed from 20 feet and three feet respectively. Another 20-footer dropped at the 11th to leave him four under for the day but after a bunkered tee shot cost him his only bogey at the 16th, he was disappointed not to get up and down from just short of the 18th green, lipping out from four feet for his birdie.

Murray was playing alongside title favourite Dunbar, who was disappointed not to take advantage of the best of the conditions as he posted a level par 72 to lead on four under par 140.

The 21-year-old, who won last year’s North of Ireland and Irish Amateur Open titles, wants to put in an impressive performance as he bids to earn his place in the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup side to face the Americans at Royal Aberdeen in September.

“I struggled today but I still managed to get it around,” said Dunbar, who won last year’s Irish Amateur Open and North of Ireland titles.

The Ulsterman leads by a stroke from fellow Walker Cup aspirant Dermot McElroy (71) of Ballymena, Galway’s Eddie McCormack (71) and Headfort’s Rory McNamara, who hit a best of the day 68 in the worst of the morning conditions.

Winner of the Leinster Youths title three year ago, 22-year-old Kells native McNamara is targeting a place on the Irish team for August’s Home Internationals at County Sligo.

And he was pleased with his bogey free, four under par effort in wet and windy morning conditions at an otherwise parched Baltray. Starting on the back nine, he dug deep to open with nine successive pars before coming home in four under with birdies at the first, second, fifth and ninth.

“It was cold and windy this morning and I was happy to get through the front nine in level par,” saidMcNamara.

“My aim was to shoot something around par going out and then try and pick up a few shots coming in and I managed to do that.

“I made a few good up and downs on the back nine and then made a good start after the turn and could have had a lot of birdies to be honest but didn’t hole the putts.”

Inspired by words of encouragement from McGrane, McNamara added: “I’ve played a lot with Damien and he just tells me to keep plugging away and keep doing what I’m doing.

“We played a lot together over the winter and he just said, ‘You have the talent, just keep going after what you want and practice hard.’”