Thunder and lightning halt Hurley’s Euro charge

Gary Hurley’s charge towards the European Amateur title was halted as thunder and lightning forced an early finish on day three on the Dukes course at St Andrews.

West Waterford star Hurley, 21, went into the third round in a four-way tie for the lead with England international Ben Stow, Finland’s Lauri Ruuska and Italian Renato Paratore, who were all on four under.

Hurley, who teed ten minutes before his rival trio, only managed four holes yesterday, but finished the day three under par, and one shot ahead of Paratore and Ruuska, who were tied for second having also only played four holes.