Murray soars to win with albatross at lucky 13th

When you are one of the championship favourites and things are going against you, there is always a good time to produce a shot out of the ordinary.

That’s just what 2012 winner and tournament specialist Pat Murray did in his second round match against Keith Mackenzie from Bruntsfield in the Clare Coast Hotels South of Ireland at Lahinch yesterday.

Murray was one down standing on the 13th tee and unleashed a massive drive that was always going to end up on the green some 350 yards away. What nobody could have foreseen, however, was that it would end up in the hole for an albatross hole in one! One of golf’s true rarities (even though he had achieved the same on the 16th at Royal Dublin some years ago) obviously enabled Murray to level the match but he still had to go all the way to the first tie hole before clinching his place in this morning’s third round draw.