As It Happened - 3 Irish Open Updates

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by Brendan Cole

2049 Trainor did end up making the cut in the end; just.

A bogey on 18 means he finished on level par.

71 players will battle it over the weekend.

1925 Disaster for Trainor on 16: a double bogey. He parred 17 and needs to play 18 well to make sure of being in the field for the weekend.

He is currently one-under with just the last to play.

1900 Barrie Trainor has dropped back to three-under through 15 - back to back bogies at 12 and 13 doing the damage.

Hopefully he will birdie the par-5 16th.

Whatever happened to David Howell? Unfortunately, yesterday's leader didn't have it today. He shot a 75 to slip back to three-under for the tournament.

1810 Edfors and Siem finished with pars on the 18th - they are both six-under heading into the weekend.

1755 Looks like around 70 players will make the cut on level par.

If Simon Thornton can stay on level par or go lower, it looks as though 11 of those will be Irish from 27 that started the event.

Out on the course, Barrie Trainor is continuing to do well, he is still five-under with 11 holes of his second round behind him.

1750 Edfors tee shot on 18, again a rescue club, is a little high and right and it trickles into a fairway bunker.

Siem hits an very good tee-shot, low and well placed down the middle, though a touch short.

1747 Edfors is still six-under after a par on 17. Siem also parred that hole, he again bleats at his ball after his birdie effort slips past.

Matteo Manassero will probably make the cut after parring the 18th and finishing on level par; that's important for him for two reasons; first, he has never missed one as a professional.

Second, and more important, he needs to make some money to avoid a trip to Q-school - two good rounds over the weekend would help that cause.

1740 Siem and Edfors are the only men on the course on six-under, while Richard Bland and Barrie Trainor are five-under and still playing. They are heading round the turn at the moment.

Aside from that, most of the big names have finished up, and most of the low scoring looks to be over; it's all about making the cut for of those still out there.

Simon Thornton is around the cut line; he is level par after 13. Graeme McDowell is also on that mark, though he is in the clubhouse.

1735 Back on the 18th tee, Paul Lawrie takes a rescue club and pushes it well right and short of the bunkers. This hole is proving very tricky - trees on the right and water on the left, as well as those bunkers.

On 16, Edfors has just missed a putt for eagle. He is two-under today and -6 for the tournament.

Rose's long putt on 18 is very good - he should make the cut. Got it past the hole and he has two feet to go which he then knocks in. Level par and tied-60th.

Khan's birdie try is downhill and he doesn't give it enough go; pulls up well short. Four-under finish.

Molinari's effort is coaxed in; nine-under and he'll play alongside Fisher tomorrow.

Siem parred the 16th after finding the very back of the green from that bunker. He is six-under for the tournament.

1730 Seven-iron for Rose and he makes a poorish swing; the ball finishes well to the left. It's on the green but that was a big pull. Tough two-putt.

Khan goes for the flag and just clears the bunker in front of it. He is in the right section of the green though.

Molinari, who hit a monster tee shot, has just 130 yards to go. He hits a wedge and sees it stop five feet to the left of the flag - great birdie chance.

1725 Rose's tee shot on 18 is solid - down the middle; Molinari has also hit a solid tee shot.

Rose is not the longest hitter and took three-wood though; tricky second comingup.

Marcel Siem really does let it all hang out. He hits an inadvertent low fading scudder into the front left bunker of the 16th, going for it in two.

The looks of disgust on his face is pretty priceless.

Tough up and down for birdie.

1720 Francesco Molinari's putt on 17 just slips by on the right. Very good effort. He gets his tap-in and remains at eight-under.

Khan also makes his putt - still four-under with one to play. Rose can't follow him in though and will need to make four on 18 to make sure he makes the cut.

He is level par at the moment.

1715 Rose has made another error playing alongside Molinari; he is in the McIlroy spot down below the 17th green and to the left.

He plays a good chip; inside where McIlroy ended up. 8 or 10 feet for par.

Simon Khan is in the front bunker and he leaves his shot short. He will need to hole a mid-length putt to stay at four-under.

1713 McIlroy's second to 18 is high and handsome and straight over the top of the flag, but it is a touch too far and he has only an outside chance at birdie.

His putt doesn't quite turn enough; he finishes up on -7 for his first two rounds (67, 68).

Clarke has a birdie chance after a really good second from the bunker and he rolls it in!

Great finish, he is -6 for the tournament (66, 70).

On 17, Molinari finds the middle part of the green with his approach - a defensive shot but not many have done well firing at this flag on the left of the green, and he is on the putting surface.

On 15, Marcel Siem has birdied the hole to get back to six-under after leaking a few shots on the back nine.

1710 Richard Green has finished on -7 after a round of 70 with pars on the closing two holes; he had a good birdie chance on 18.

Paul McGinley, playing with the Australian, is -6 after his second round.

Barrie Trainor has had another birdie on the 8th; he is in to five-under.

1705 Clarke's drive on 18 looks good but it just trickles into a fairway bunker on the right of the fairway.

McIlroy's tee shot is straighter; straight, long and in the middle of the fairway. No fear of the water on the left there.

Rose's birdie putt is rolled in neatly on 16 - he is now -1 and playing himself back into the tournament having flirted with the cut, though he is still a long way behind Fisher.

1700 Clarke's birdie effort is again short. Still level par today; he is -5 for the tournament. One hole to go.

Rose has played his second short and right of the 16th he has 50 yards from an unpleasant lie.

Good effort, he will have a birdie putt from about six feet.

McIlroy holes out but he is back into the large group on -7. He has had seven bogies so far.

Molinari almost holed a monster birdie putt but it slid just by on 16.

1655 Mclroy's pitch from well below the green is a decent effort but it runs past the flag. He is on the right level now but in the fringe with 20 feet to go.

His par chip runs two-and-a-half feet by.

Molinari has 169 to go into the wind on 16 - and it is raining quite steadily in Killarney. With a 6-iron he finds the front of the green.

Two putts for par.

1650 McIlroy's tee shot on 17 is perfect; right of the fairway. Clarke also takes three-wood and he punches it into the left hand rough.

But his second is over-drawn and ends up short, left and below the green. Clarke plays a more cautious shot and finds the green.

Francesco Molinari has found a horrible spot on 16; right by a skinny tree. The tree is not big, but it is situated exactly where a golfer would go......

The Italian is setting up 'backwards' shots but changes his mind mind and opts to go for the left-handed swing with the club reversed.

Heart in mouth moment.....he could miss this ball.

But he gets it and it goes a good 40 yards; well played.

1645 Clarke's birdie try is a good effort but it is a touch short - just a par for him on that par-five.

McIlroy birdies by tapping in from a couple of feet; eight-under with two to play.

Richard Green, one of a large group on seven-under, has found a horrendous bunker in front of the green on the 17th. It's deep and he may have gone right into the face.

1642 Clarke was not in sand on the 16th but his chip ends up well short. He'll have 20 feet for birdie.

McIlroy's eagle effort is a little pacy up a slight rise in the green but it should be fine.

On 16, Marcel Siem has leaked another shot. The young German is -5 with five to play.

Francesco Molinari has parred the 15th and remains on -8.

Barrie Trainor is going well; he is two-under through seven holes today and -4 for the tournament.

1640 Clarke's second on the par-five 16th is a shy at the green that comes up short from the left hand rough. He may be in wet sand with a longish shot to come.

McIlroy takes an iron after his superb drive and fires his shot to the front of the green. Similar spot to McGinley - he might have gotten even closer but he should birdie the hole from there.

On 15, Rose's chip is tidy and he will par the hole. Very well done - he will stay on level par with the par-five next.

1635 Rose found an awful spot on 15, putlling his drive and seeing his ball end up just in front of a tree with a root interfering with the lie.

He has to crouch over to get a swing. He has actually opted to call for the referee - to chat about the root. The concern is that he could injure his wrist.

No joy for him in terms of getting a drop.

He takes a swing at it, punching a low shot out; super shot in the end, but it runs just through the green. Well done, but he will need a good chip and putt to par the hole.

On 16, McGinley has a long eagle putt from the front left portion of the green to the back right flag and it just slides by the hole.

Tapi in birdie, and he is now six-under.

1628 Justin Rose is battling to make the cut and he has birdied 14 to get back to level par.

Johan Edfors has missed a mid-length par putt on 12. He made a tremendous start today, with three early birdies, but he has stalled a bit

McIlroy missed that birdie putt; good try but it caught the rim and stayed out. Clarke two-putted, also for par.

On the tee at 16, Clarke has hit his drive left of the fairway.

Rory McIlroy has hit a big one down the middle - excellent shot.

Francesco Molinari (-8) is on 15 and he has put his drive in the fairway - good birdie chance for the Italian with only a short wedge coming up.

1620 Richard Green has moved to seven-under, with two birdies in a row on 14 and 15 - holing a long putt on the 15th green.

On the same hole, Paul McGinley has also secured a birdie to move to five-under.

Back down the 15th, Clarke has hit his tee shot left and into a stand of trees. He has a shot at the green but the ball is deep in the grass.

Clarke gets a good contact though, and sends his ball to the centre of the green.

McIlroy hit a better tee shot, to the right of the fairway. From 118 yards, and in the first cut, he flights a lovely wedge. He'll have 10 feet for birdie.

On 17, Patrik Sjoland has just missed a birdie putt to get to seven under.

1615 Stunning chip in from McIlroy - he was well short and right of the 13th green and had a bunker to come over too.

The 21-year-old played a perfect low pitch that ran a good 25 feet before dropping in at perfect holing pace.

Seven-under.

'It always looked like a three' jokes Darren Clarke, who pars the same hole with a tidy two-putt.

Clarke then follows up with a birdie on the next and he is five-under through 14.

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By James McMahon - E-mail your thoughts to sportonline@rte.ie

1532 Molinari drops one after a poor approach on 11 and Fisher's lead is three again. McIlroy just fials to get one back on 12 and remains at six under.

1529 Pau McGinley makes his fifth birdie of the day on 12 to move to five under. Projected cut mark is level par.

1522 Second bogey of the day for McIlroy drops him back to six under through 11, while Molinari picks up another birdie on 10 to move two behind Ross Fisher on 10 under.

1506 Padraig Harrington is being interviewed on RTÉ, and much has been made about his ability to grind out decent scores. Paddy has not won a tournament since the US PGA two years ago on Sunday next, but he surely will make the Ryder Cup team, as a Monty pick even if he does not qualify automatically. Or will he?

1503 Ross Fisher is now three clear of Molinari, with the latter on nine under. I remember Darren Clarke hitting a 60 in the third round of the Smurfit European Open in 1999. Unfortunately, he did not win the tournament.

1454 I can confirm Jamie Elson went into the water four times for his par-three sixth hole earlier.

1450 Francesco Molinari is on the charge, he is in line to beat Fisher's round at this rate! Five birdies from the first seven holes. Molinari is nine-under-par in total now.

1440 Darren Clarke has slipped back to four under after a disappointing start to his round, two bogeys and a birdie through eight.

1420 Rory McIlroy has had a good start, two birdies in the first six holes takes the Northern Irishman to six-under.

1326 Bad news folks. Coverage on RTÉ and SKY has gone off air until 3pm, so we are going to have an enforced lunch break until then. Sorry about that, see you in 90 minutes.

1308 Clarke and McIlroy make early birdies to go to five-under.

1301 Lowry with almost an equally-impressive round of 65, he'll be back this weekend.

1300 Fisher completes a career-low score of 61 with a par on the last. Amazingly 10 birdies and eight pars. Brilliant play.

1259 Three birdies and three bogeys leaves Michael Hoey on five-under with three to play.

1257 Lowry on the last hole, he has been excellent today. The champion misses the green but a superb recovery means he should make par here.

1255 'I would be interested to hear the story of that poor Jamie Elson who posted a 12 shots on that par three.

'I had similar thing happening to me last week, par three, 17th, 180 yards.

'I was leading my home course competition by four shots....I posted an eight!! Three balls in the water....

'I feel sorry for the guy. Eric.'

I'm still trying to find out Eric, players down the end of the leaderboard tend not to get much coverage.

1254 Fisher has a 15-footer for one last birdie.

1252 Great finish by Harrington as he birdies the last. McGrane settles for bogey. That is a 67 for Harrington and 72 for McGrane. Harrington will be very pleased with his score.

1251 Back-to-back birdies for Gonzalo Fdez-Castano as he moves to nine-under and second place.

1241 Fisher's putt was on-line but it doesn't have enough power. That'll be a par.

1239 Big smile from Shane Lowry, birdie at 17. He couldn't even see the hole, it was such an uphill chip that he could barely see the flag but somehow Lowry sends the ball within inches of the hole and it rolls in. Lowry now six-under for the day.

1238 Good recovery by McGrane and from 40-feet he should two-putt for bogey.

1236 The chance of a round below 60 appears to be gone. His approach at 17 is just too far away from the pin to exepct a birdie. Lowry's effort fails to tackle the uphill green and slides down into the rough.

1233 Harrington's recovery game bears fruit once again as he manages to save par. From the final. tee he finds the fairway, along with McDowell (+1) who could do with a birdie with the cut looming. McGrane's ball lands right in the water, his round is fading fast.

1228 Harrington will shoot off the green at 17, it will take a very good shot to save par.

1225 Noh with his third shot on the final hole. He chips up towards the hole but there is too much on it and he will struggle to make par. Harrington has somehow played on and is now on the fairway. It will be need to be a good approach to save par. McGrane has lost a stroke after misjudging his par-effort while waiting for Harrington.

1224 Lowry will move to two-under as his eagle shot on 16 comes up short. Fisher has to settle for par on the same hole, but there is still a chance for the Englishman to make history.

1223 Jamie Elson has posted a 12 on the par-three sixth. How? I do not know. I'm guessing the water hazard might have played a part, I will find out before I depart today!

1219 McGrane, surrounded by spectators, just misses the green with his approach. Decent shot. Noh on 18 hits a camera stand as he aims for the green. Harrington is still in a pickle on 17 and has called for the referee.

1218 Nice approach from Fisher but a 20-footer for birdie. He'll do well to make it.

1217 Harrington's ball actualis in the bushes and he will have to take a drop here. There is no way he can hit it, there are too many obstructions in front of it.

1216 Howell on his 75: 'I played rubbish - as bad as I was good yesterday.

'I got off to the worst start and just swung the club poorly. I just didn't know where it was going to go and it was a case of hanging on, which I did.

'It could have been worse, to be honest, and I've got two nice days now to crack on and finish high up.'

1214 Fisher is in the sand at 16 but recovers well with his second shot. He will be confident of making birdie when well placed about 60 yards off the green.

1211 Noh saves his par. Good up and down. Harrington, McGrane and McDowell on 17 now. Harrington misses the fairway, big drive from G-Mac and McGrane's ball lands amongst the spectators.

1210 So with three holes to go, Fisher needs two birdies for sub-60. The par-five is next.

1209 Noh is forced to dig his ball out of the 17th bunker, leaving himself with a tricky eight-footer for par.

1208 Fisher just sends his birdie effort passed the cup. He looks very upset by that, clearly he has sub-60 on his mind.

1204 Harrington should make par on the par-five 16th.

1204 It really is amazing to watch this. Fisher sends his approach from the 15th fairway to within 10 feet of the pin.

1203 Noh has joined Rumford on eight-under after 16.

1156 I really should mention Michael Hoey, he is currently tied for 15th after shooting one-over through 12. Watching Fisher record all these birdies just reminds me of Rory McIlroy at Quail Hollow....hopefully this is his day.

1153 Fisher is now four shots clear of Rumoford. David Howell posts a round of 75 to drop to three under. Shame.

1153 Fisher makes it four birdies in-a-row....get the scorecard out Max! (See 1107).

1151 As requestion a prediction for the cut is one-over. Damian Mooney is currently level par for the tournament now after an excellent opening nine holes.

1149 Excellent putt from Harrington, he broadly smiles as there was plenty of welly on his long-putt, luckily for the Dubliner the ball bounced up and sank. He goes to six-under. Lowry goes to one-under with birdie at 14.

1146 Fisher is on the verge of something special. Magnificent approach at 14, a round below 60 is definitely in his sights if he sinks this 10-foot downhill putt.

1145 Shane Lowry sends an excellent shot sailing towards the 14th green, he'll have a 15-footer to go below par.

1144 A reminder that Rory McIlroy tees off in about 40 minutes time.

1142 McGrane in the trees at 15 with Harrington and McDowell on he fairway.

1137 McGrane saves par after bogey at 13 to keep his score of seven-under.

1136 Anders Hansen just misses a birdie shot at 17, he'll stay on six-under.

1134 Amazing. Putt of the day from Fisher, he strokes the ball in from a huge distance to make it birdie number nine.

1127 Fisher is now eight-under for the day after another birdie, this time at 12. He has got six holes left and needs to birdie four of them to shoot below 60. I think he'll be happy enough to maintain his current two shot lead.

1114 It may not have been in-succession with the others, but Ross Fisher won't care about that now as he picks up a shot at 11.

1107 'Just heard the commentary about Ross Fisher's six birdie run at the Irish Open this morning and the fact that the European Tour Record is eight birdies.

Did you know that this feat was also matched by an Irish Amateur Golfer - T. (Tom) W. Egan of Monkstown Golf Club Cork and is still a world amateur record - it was set in Baltray GC in Co Louth in 1962 in the third Round of the East of Ireland Championship!

'No doubt that Tom is watching the broadcast this morning and he would have been watching with great interest to see if Ross could finally beat the record!

'He was delighted to see Marc Calcaveccia beat it in the US with 9 in a row in the recent past.'

Thanks to Max Geraghty for that. I'll try to pass on the other message to the commentators but I hope this will suffice!

1107 I have something very interesting for you......

1105 Disappointment for Padraig Harrington as his delicate putt just clips the hole and stays out. He'll have to settle for par.

1104 McGrane is really answering everything being thrown at him, another excellent putt at the 12th to take a share of the lead with Rumford and Fisher.

1103 Noh's superb approach at 13 leaves his ball only a matter of feet from the hole.

1059 Rumford's consistent putting is keep him at the top of the table along with Fisher. The Englishman's birdie run has come to an end but no sign of any dropped shots having reached 10 holes.

1057 McDowell is just not having a good day. He's deep in the bunker at 12 and is likely to move over par currently standing at level.

1054 Seconds earlier and Damien McGrane chips in from off the green to a huge reception from the watching crowd. McGrane returns to seven-under, Harrington two shots further back.

1053 Padraig, I take it back. Superb putt, about 25 feet, to save par at 11.

1048 'Give Shane Lowry a mention - battling back to level par to stay in contention for the weekend.' - Gabhan in Beaufort, Killarney

Thanks Gabhan, I've been meaning to get to the defending champion for a while now.

Birdies at two, five, six and eight for Lowry, a bogey at four his only blemish so far. Good effort.

1047 Seyng-yul Noh is going along nicely, one-under for the day and six-under in total.

1046 Good shot by Harrington but he has a long putt to save par.

1043 Harrington is enduring one of his trademark wobbles, finding the ferns at the 11th and then struggling to emerge from them with his next effort. He's off the fairway and likely to drop a shot here.

1039 McGrane's dropped shot means that Fisher and Rumford hold a two-shot lead over the field.

1037 McGrane does well to make it just a bogey after finding the water hazard at 10.

1033 Brett Rumford joins Fisher on eight-under after birdie at seven.

1032 Par for Fisher, as the rest of the field breathes a sigh of relief. McDowell is also in trouble at 10 and ends up with a difficult par putt. His effort clips the hole and the US Open winner is facing another dropped shot.

1031 Bad news for Damien McGrane as he finds the water at the 10th hole. He chips in for what is his third shot at a par-three and is within feet of the pin. Ross Fisher has another chance for birdie believe it or not....

1020 Another birdie for Harrington on nine, he is on the charge at five-under.

1018 That is indeed birdie number six for Ross Fisher, our new outright lead on eight-under. Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano finds the water, the Spaniard will drop a shot or two from his current total of six-under.

1017 John Rogers gives his thoughts of Padraig:

'Paddy to win it. If he is in contention today, he has the experience to do so.

'I really hope Paddy can do it he is such an amazing golfer and person he deserves to be in the top 5 in the world.'

Harrington has just returned to four-under with birdie at eight.

1012 Joining him is Damien McGrane after an impressive birdie at the tricky 410-yard par four eighth. Meanwhile a superb approach from Fisher at that hole could mean birdie number six for the Englishman.

1006 Ross Fisher is having an absolute stormer, recording five birdies in-a-row from hole three to seven inclusive. He roars to seven-under....

1000 Griffin has e-mailed to say he is enjoying the updates as he not does not have a television at work. Some bosses just aren't fair eh?

For those of you that do have one, coverage has started on RTÉ One. To answer your question Griffin, expect movement today!

0957 The dispute over David Higgins' alliegances rumbles on. I'm just going to stick to the scoring and tell you he is at one-under. A double bogey at eight is quickly countered with birdie at nine. There is definitely a low score out there for somebody today but it will take an excellent round of golf.

0954 It is getting very congested at the top of the leaderboard. McGrane makes birdie at seven for the second time this week to re-join the group on six-under. No sign of Brett Rumford surrendering his one-shot lead at present.

0949 David Howell's challenge is in trouble after a disasterous double bogey at 10. He's back to three-under.

0947 Gonzalez Fdez-Castano posts three successive pars to remain at six-under. This is a very open tournament, very hard to pick a winner at the minute.

0940 Apologies to David Higgins, he is infact from Kerry. It has been corrected!

0933 Here comes Harrington. Great birdie at the fourth as the Dubliner jumps to four-under.

0930 Anders Hansen is moving up the standings. After a 67 yesterday, the Dane have birdies the seven to go to two-under today and six-under overall.

0913 Graeme McDowell moves back to level par after bogey at three. Harrington is a shot ahead.

0907 Colm has e-mailed a query about the weather in Killarney. Greg Allen has stated is a lot cooler this morning but conditions are still good.

0905 McGrane drops a shot at four, dropping to five-under.

0900 This will be a busy morning. Brett Rumford jumps to the top of the leaderboard as he opens with consecutive birdies.

0852 Gonzalo-Fernandez Castano and Brett Rumford have birdied the first to make it a six-way tie at the top.

0842 No change at the top as Noh and Lee make par at three and seven. Richard Green is not due out until 12:15 so a chance for the rest to post a decent lead.

0839 Damien McGrane is level par for the day after two holes. David Higgins in enjoying a good start, the 37-year-old Kerry man has picked up two shots in the first four holes to go to one-under.

0824 It is par for Padraig Harrington and G-Mac at the first. Ridiculous nickname.

0823 McGrane has just teed off, he'll be encouraged by the early boost anyway.

0821 Overnight leader David Howell made double bogey at the first. He drops back to five-under. It means we have a tie for the lead, with four players sitting on six-under.

Danny Lee, Seung-yul Noh and Richard Green are in a tie with McGrane.

Lee is two-under after five holes.

0820 Already there have changes at the top of the leaderboard and it is good news for Damien McGrane.

0810 Good morning and welcome to our text commentary on the second day of the 3 Irish Open.