Molinari surprise leader at Irish Open
Francesco Molinari equalled his best ever round on the European Tour
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Thursday, 14, May 2009 09:05
Italian Francesco Molinari was the surprise leader at the Irish Open after firing a sensational course record nine-under-par 63 at County Louth.
Molinari hit an eagle on the third and then holed eight birdies and only two bogeys to finish one stroke ahead of Sweden's Johan Edfors, who himself had equalled the old course record earlier in the day with a eight-under-par 64 – which included 10 birdies.
British quartet Jamie Donaldson, Nick Dougherty, Paul Lawrie, Oliver Wilson and Robert Rock all had excellent rounds and have a share of joint third on eight-under-par.
Teenage sensation Rory McIlroy, who only days earlier admitted that the Ryder Cup wasn't very important to him, had Europe captain Colin Montgomerie as his playing partner today.
McIlroy hit five birdies and two bogeys on his way to a round of three-under-par 69 and Montgomerie finished a shot back at two-under.
Home favourite Padraig Harrington, who has yet to have a top-10 finish this season, had a day to forget as he could only manage a one-over 73.
The Open and US PGA champion tried to stay positive, saying: "I felt good about a lot of things strangely enough. I will focus on that and in three months I could be on top of the world.
"I was always hanging on in there, but that's how the game is. Some days it just does not go for you and some days everything goes for you. I've just got to stay patient."