GOLF EUROPEAN QUALIFYING: NIALL KEARNEY is 6ft 4in but he looked 10 feet tall as he fired a brilliant, three under par 69 on the stunning Stadium Course to stride into the last two rounds of the 108-hole European Tour Qualifying School finals at PGA Golf de Catalunya.
Just 10 weeks after he impressed in the Walker Cup on US soil, the 21-year old from Royal Dublin continued his remarkably poised professional debut to share 24th place on seven under par, with the top 30 and ties earning tour cards tomorrow evening.
A staggering 18 under par for his last six rounds at the Qualifying School, Kearney is bubbling with confidence and believes he has the game to join his former Ireland team-mates Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry on the European Tour next season.
“I’ve lost touch with Rory over the last couple of years but I’m still in contact with Shane,” he said after posting eagle, four birdies and three bogeys. “Loads of Irish players are coming out of the amateur game and doing well so that gives you more confidence. There is no reason why my game is not good enough to be out there with them.
“I am not surprising myself with the way I am playing. I was confident and relaxed all the way through the second stage and I am still confident.
“I could have gone deep the last couple of rounds and it could have been three or four better today. Hopefully we can post a couple of low ones in the last two rounds and finish the job.”
Kearney holed confidence- boosting par putts of four and eight feet at the first and second before racking up birdies at the third, sixth, 10th and 11th to roar up the leaderboard.
A three-putt bogey at the 13th set him back but he jumped straight into the top 10 by rifling a 200-yard four-iron to six feet at the 15th to set up a stunning eagle before a missed green at the 16th and a poor drive at the last cost him bogeys.
Early-morning frost delayed proceedings by 75 minutes, leaving two groups with holes to finish this morning before the 72-hole cut will decide the top 70 and ties who will contest the last two rounds.
With England’s Simon Khan leading by three shots on 20 under par, the guillotine will fall at three under par, which means Ireland’s Gary Murphy and Simon Thornton (with a three-under-par back nine) survive by a shot after rounds of 74 and 69 respectively on the Stadium Course.
But Clandeboye’s Jonathan Caldwell, Glasson’s Colm Moriarty and St Margaret’s teaching professional John Kelly all missed the boat after varying woes yesterday.
Caldwell’s exit was tragic. Needing only a par five at the Tour Course’s 18th to progress, he drove out of bounds for the second time in nine holes to card a triple-bogey eight for a 72 that left him three shots from safety on level par.
Moriarty putted poorly for a 76 on the Stadium Course to finish five shots outside the mark on two over, while Kelly began birdie-birdie-eagle but played the rest in one over for a three under 67 and a six-over-par total.
European Tour winner Simon Khan moved into a three-shot lead in Girona, after the 2004 Celtic Manor Wales Open champion shot 66 to move to 20 under par.
