Italy’s Massimo Scarpa takes a slender one shot lead into the final round of the buzzgolf.com North West of Ireland Open after four under par 68 took him to 11 under par. But just one shot adrift the pack are gathering with the Swedish pair of Olle Karlsson and Mikael Lundberg alongside Ireland’s Gary Murphy, bidding to become the first Irish winner of a European Tour on home soil for 18 years.
After being dogged by inconsistency throughout the season, Scarpa has now played seven successive rounds under par is in prime position to take his first Tour title.
“It is the prefect place to be,” he said. “Every tournament you want to be there.” Last time Scarpa led going into the final round was in the 1999 Algarve Portuguese Open but he fell back to finish in a share of ninth place. On this occasion he feels he is ready to go on and take the title. The 30-year-old from Venice, who plays right handed but chips left handed, fired four birdies in an outward half of 33 and then after seven pars coming home birdied the 17th to pull one clear despite missed chances from three feet at both the 16th and 18th.
Murphy survived all manner of adventures to stay within a shot of the lead after his round of 70. Just as he moved alongside Scarpa his hopes of the outright lead sunk on the short 16th when he hit a six iron tee shot in the water. The result was a double bogey but the 27-year-old from Kilkenny bounced straight back, peppering the flag with two outstanding nine irons on the last two holes to finish with a brace of birdies.
“I lost focus on the 16th,” he said. “Got a bit cocky. Thought I was just going to hit a six iron in and rushed it. Straight in the water.
“But the two birdies at the end were important. I’m only one behind and have got a chance. I played d steady, just didn’t hit it very close. I was just trying to plug away at the pars and take my chances when they came.”
While Scarpa has been plagued by inconsistency, Karlsson has been plagued by injury. Last year he underwent an operation to repair damaged ligaments in his left shoulder and has now lost his card. Seven years ago Karlsson finished sixth in the Irish Open to secure his place on the Tour and he is hoping a return to Ireland this week will bring similar fortunes. The former winner of the Open Novotel Perrier pairs tournament with Jarmo Sandelin picked up a nine birdie haul in his round of 68 but also included three bogeys and a double bogey, his third double bogey of the week.
“Too many mistakes,” he said. “I’ve played well but three doubles is too many. But I’m up there and in with a chance. I secured my card in Ireland in 1993 and now I hope to do it again by winning here.”
One shot further back are the group of Andrew Beal, Ross Drummond and Germany’s Tobias Dier, who fired a course record equalling 65, matching the score set by Henrik Stenson earlier as he moved to eight under. Stenson is currently second in the Challenge Tour Rankings and a high finish in this joint Challenge Tour and European Tour event will take him past David Higgins at the top in the race to win the Challenge Tour Order of Merit.
