Trio in contention as Kavanagh makes history

Hazel Kavanagh made history by becoming the first woman to make the cut at the Cassidy Golf Irish PGA Championship, at Roganstown.

While the 103rd staging has boiled up into an interesting battle with a trio of challengers tied at the top on four-under-par at the halfway stage, Kavanagh edged into the reminder of the tournament right on the mark of ten-over-par 152.

Kavanagh (Car Golf Services) posted rounds of 78 and 74 and enthused: “It is nice to make a bit of history but I didn’t think that I would qualify after that first round 78.”

Overnight leader Michael McDermott, who opened with a course record 65, saw his dreams of a repeat take an early nosedive as he bogeyed the first, second and fourth holes but he recouped a shot with birdie three at eight.

However, the horrors continued with back-to-back bogeys at 10 and 11 before he got back on the rails with birdies at 14 and 18 for a round of 73 and a total of 138.

Michael McGeady (pictured below) took the first round honours with a super 66 and when he eagled his opening hole, the 10th, yesterday, he must have reckoned that he was on his way to another sizzling 60s score but the thoughts were quickly wiped away as the big Derry man immediately handed back the advantage as he double-bogeyed the par four 11th.

He then made matters worse by dropping shots at both the 13th and 16th holes to fade out to three-under-par for the tournament but he halted the slide by trimming the long 18th to four shots.

McGeady then covered the front nine in regulation 35, swapping birdie four at the fifth hole for bogey five at seven. His round of 72 gives him a 36 hole aggregate of 138 (four-under) and ties him with McDermott and Mark Staunton.

Southern champion Staunton, the Ballinasloe club pro, steadily climbed the leader board with a six-birdie 68 to be one-under-par and in the weekend mix as joint leader going into the final 36 holes.

The steady Staunton, who is also a former Ulster champion, began on the 10th tee but, despite three back nine birdies, was only one-under as he turned for home.

Staunton then laid the foundations with birdie threes at the first and third holes and a four at the long 5th to be five-under-par but a blip at the short ninth denied him of the outright halfway lead.

Title favourite Niall Kearney posted a disappointing 74 on Thursday but carded an equal best-of-the-day 67 to lurch up the leader board, as did playing partner Peter Martin who also added a 67 to his first round 74.

They both started at the 10th tee with Kearney pencilling in eagle three with a drive and six iron to 10 feet. He added a birdie four at 18, despite driving into rough, to turn three-under.

On the front nine the Royal Dublin-attaché shot birdie twos at the second and ninth holes, rolling in a 20-footer to finish, but lost a stroke at hole eight when he missed from eight feet.

“I got off to a bad start in the first round when I putt a ball out-of-bounds at the first hole and it’s not an easy course to get shots back from. Being favourite didn’t unease me,” said Ulster champion Kearney.

Martin’s putting was exceptionally good. For his birdie four at 10 he holed a 15 feet putt downhill and made birdie three at 13 uphill from 20 feet. Ironically, he three-stabbed the 14th green but got the shot back with another 20-footer on 16.

Again from 20 feet he made birdie three at the fifth hole, missed the green to drop a shot at seven before finishing birdie-birdie with putts of 15 and 30 feet.

“Yes, the putting was good and the iron play was not bad either. I missed the cut last year by a stroke so I’ve done better, so far, this time,” reflected the Belfast man who was out of golf for a month after cracking his ribs in a football game.