Darren Clarke fell agonisingly short of the magical 59 but still equalled the the lowest round in European Tour history with a brilliant 60, 12 under par, to move into the lead at the halfway stage of the Smurfit European Open at the K Club.
Nevertheless he still became the first European Tour Member to shoot 60 twice, equalled the record low round, equalled the record of eight consecutive birdies and equalled the record of 12 birdies in a round. He also smashed the course record at the K Club by four shots.
"I had a glorious chance to break that 60 number," said Clarke after shooting to the top of the leaderboard. "I hit a great putt on number eight (his 17th) and don't know how that putt stayed out. Opportunities to break that number don't come along too often. There are not many people who have done it and that was a fantastic opportunity for me. It would have meant an awful lot for m to do it here in Ireland."
At 11 under par for 36 holes, Clarke holds a two-shot lead over Katsuyoshi Tomori of Japan, whose 69 left him nine under. Englishmen Lee Westwood and David Gilford were on eight under par.
Clarke started his round at the tenth seven shots adrift of the overnight lead after a one over par 73 in the first round. His 30 foot putt on the tenth for his first birdie was just the start of things to come. Another birdie followed on the 413-yards 11th after hitting a seven iron to eight feet. Two putts on the par five 13th brought the next birdie and then another followed on the 16th.
But it was from the 18th that his round really gathered momentum. Two putts from ten feet for a birdie gave him an outward half of 31, five under. He then proceeded to birdie the first seven holes of the front nine, all from within eight feet, to equal the record of eight successive birdies and 12 in a round. One more birdie in the last two holes was all that was needed to enter the history books as the first player to break 59 on the European Tour but his putt from 12 feet on the eighth just ran over the edge of the hole. A birdie on the last would have done it but his putt of 20 feet stayed out.
"Today was probably as good as I have ever played. Somewhere around the front nine I thought of 59. I was in my own little world, focusing on every shot."
Eight players have shot 60 on the European Tour, including Ian Woosnam, Clarke's playing partner today. "Darren played fantastic today," said Woosnam. "It could have been better. That 60 barrier is hard to break but it is getting closer."
Open Champion Paul Lawrie followed his opening 67 with a solid one under par 71 to lie five shots behind Clarke while Colin Montgomerie looked to be making a charge with an outward half of 32 to move within two of the lead. But the Scot struggled on the back nine as he came home in 39 to lie five shots off the pace.
The halfway cut fell at one under par.
