Eagle has landed

John Kelly steamed up the leaderboard to win the €15,000 Slieve Russell PGA Pro-Am Tournament, as  first round pacesetter Eamonn Brady went in the other direction.

After opening with a regulation 72 on Saturday, Kelly posted a 69 yesterday with a golden eagle three, at the lucky-for-him long13th hole, highlighting his card in the sparkling sunshine. The St Margaret’s club professional found the heart of the green with a drive and hybrid and got down in two stabs for his three.

Kelly had begun his second round on the 10th tee and when that eagle landed three holes later it launched his trip to the top of the leaderboard. A drive and sand-wedge to both the 14th and 17th greens set up a pair of birdie threes and, with no bogeys to bother him, he turned in four-under 32.

However, his homeward journey hit a bump at the second hole where he stumbled to pencil in double-bogey six. He somewhat off-set the drawback, when he reached the sixth green with a drive and seven iron, before getting down in two putts for birdie four and a front nine of one-over-par 37.

Michael Allen, who matched Brady’s opening 67, finished one over for the 36 holes but brought in the winning Craig Family team of Philip (6), Norman (10) and Adam (16), all from the host club. They added 92 points to their opening 86 for a total of 178.