Colm Campbell might have made an eagle and 17 birdies in the first three rounds of the Flogas Irish Amateur Open but such is the quality of the golf that he's only two clear of pal Jack Hume heading into Sunday's final round at the Royal Dublin.

Protected by no more than a light sea breeze for the first two days and left utterly defenceless from lunchtime on Saturday, the venerable Bull Island links has taken a pounding at the hands of some of Europe's best amateurs with 22 players under par and the cut falling at five over par, a score that has been good enough to win four of the last six, weather-beaten stagings.

No doubt the purists will complain that tees were pushed up 137 yards on day one, 150 yards on day two and nearly 200 yards yesterday to make the course playable and keep round times within the 4 hour 33 minute limit established by the GUI.

And yet the course still played over 7,100 yards and the result — as far as the players and most spectators was concerned — was one of the most enjoyable day's of amateur golf seen in this country for many years.

It end with 29-year old Warrenpoint talent Campbell recovering from an opening bogey with seven birdies to post a six under 66 that left him on 14 under par and two shots ahead of Walker Cup star and world No 10 Hume, who shot a superb 65.

It looks like a two-horse race for the title but English 17-year old Marco Penge is only five off the lead after adding a 69 to his course record 64 for a share of third alongside the strapping, 19-year old German Maximum Boegel, who also shot 65 in perfect afternoon conditions.

"I can't wait," Campbell said of Sunday's final round. "Let's see if we can keep it going and give myself another  chance coming into the back nine and I can be there with a chance to win. 

"I holed nice 12 footer for birdie at the second to steady the ship after bogeying the first [bunkered short]. And then I hit a seven iron to three feet at the fourth and got up and down from the bushes at the sixth for par. That kept my momentum going.

"Then I hit a good shot into seven to 20 feet and holed it, which kept everything going along nicely because Marco was four under through six, so I needed to keep in touch with him.  I hit a great nine iron from 160 into a foot at 10 and made a nice up and down for birdie on 11 from the front of the green to go four under. 

"I got up and down out of the trap on 14 for birdie to go five under, had a couple of chances on 15 (15ft), 16 (4ft) and 17 (15ft) but didn't convert them and then holed a nice 20 footer at the last. It's one way of shooting 66."

Campbell is not thinking about the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open place on offer for the winner but focused solely on getting his second major win since he made the breakthrough by capturing the East of Ireland title in 2014.

The birdie putt from 10 feet at the second and the par save from 15 feet at the sixth and the birdie at the seventh were three of the big keys that kept him in touch with Penge, who was five under after 10 until he made a double bogey at the 12th and a bogey at the 15th before finishing birdie-par-par for a 69.

Campbell was unaware of the fireworks that Hume was producing in the match ahead but he knows he is going to have to produce his very best golf to keep Hume at bay. 

"It was nice to birdie 18 to edge a bit clear of the wee man," added Campbell, who was also seriously impressed by Penge's all round game.

"He hit two class iron shot to five and hit it on the green in six which was two serious hits today because there was no wind helping," Campbell said.

"Whoever players the better golf tomorrow is going to win so if I can just keep doing what I am doing, focussing on every shot, I can do it. I have a lot of respect for Jack, we are good friends and I think he will still be the man to beat tomorrow. 

"He's so capable of going low so I have to keep at it and keep him away from it! If the weather is like today, yes another 66 could be needed."

Hume was also in superb form and his only mistake was an untidy bogey at the fourth where he hit an average chip from just off the green and pushed a five foot par effort wide.

The rest was superb with birdies at the first, second, sixth, seventh and ninth sending him to the turn in four under 31.

On the back nine he brilliantly eagled the 14th with a five iron to five feet and then holed a 30 footer at the 17th.

Hume was more than pleased with his score and full of praise for the GUI's course set up, which helped the morning starters to survive wet and blustery morning conditions with their pride intact and allowed the leaders to attack.

"The course was gettable today with some fairly accessible pin positions," Hume said. "I got off to a quick start with birdies at the first and second and dropped a silly shot at the fourth hole. But I got my momentum back with birdies at the sixth and seventh and stiffed one on nine to turn in four under. I played pretty solid and holed some nice putts as well so I am happy with that.

"Hopefully we will get a decent day tomorrow and we can go out and make some birdies. I am sure the will be a bit of wind tomorrow so I have to be patient and just plot my way around."

Hume has made a conscious effort to work hard on his mental game with coach Gavin Lunny and mental coach Denis Hevey as he prepares to turn professional later this year and it's paying off.

"It's a new me," he said. "I am trying to stay calm and work on that side of my game. It definitely held me back before and I was getting a little bit down on myself at times. I am the type of guy who practices a lot so I have high expectations of myself and if I hit bad shots, I tend to get a bit annoyed.

"I have techniques that keep me in the moment. You just have to understand that one shot is not going to damage your round. If you keep the same mindset, you can recover from bad holes rather than letting it drag on three or four holes in a row."

On the challenge of trying to overcome Campbell, his room mate at Q-School last year, he said: "It's going to be tough because he's been playing well. But the course is scoreable. The GUI have been setting it up brilliantly all week. Most of the holes that are playing into the wind have been moved forward. It is great to see an even in Ireland with these sort of scores. It gets all the Irish amateurs ready for the professional game when the want to turn. They get used to going out and shooting 65-66. It's great."

 

At 22, Hume is destined for the professional ranks but the dream is also still alive for Campbell, who recently turned 29 yet still has genuine professional ambitions having taken the brave step to give up his job as a store manager for O2 UK just over a year ago to concentrate on giving the game his all.

"You only get one shot at life and I didn't want to have any regrets," Campbell said. "You get brilliant help and support from the GUI so it is very difficult to turn those chances down."

Irish Amateur Open, The Royal Dublin (Par 72)

Final round tee-times

1. 07:45 Petrozzi, Harradine
2. 07:56 Grant, Reid, Carter
3. 08:07 O'Rourke, Harman, Schellong
4. 08:18 Lopez, O'Rourke, Mullarney
5. 08:29 Ross, Holzwarth, Yates
6. 08:40 Grehan, Verlaar, Rafferty
7. 08:51 Yule, Moore, Ruff
8. 09:02 Fairweather, Johnston, Bloor
9. 09:13 Whelan, Robins, Mullins
10. 09:24 Singh Brar, Mulligan, Holland
11. 09:46 Butler, McDermott, Savage
12. 09:57 Griffin, Purcell, Chapman
13. 10:08 Strickland, Dawson, McDonnell
14. 10:19 Griffith, Neergaard-Peterson, Shanahan
15. 10:30 Galbraith, Li, Braeunig
16. 10:41 Gandy, Enefer, LeBlanc
17. 10:52 Cannon, Gleeson, Sugrue
18. 11:03 Whitaker, Jordan, Lopes
19. 11:14 McLarnon, Syme, Boegel
20. 11:25 Penge, Hume, Campbell Jnr

After 54 holes

Detailed scores

202 Colm Campbell Jnr (Warrenpoint) 68 68 66 

204 Jack Hume (Naas) 67 72 65 

207 Marco Penge (Eng) 74 64 69, Maximilian Boegel (Ger) 73 69 65 

209 Connor Syme (Sco) 74 68 67 

210 Tiarnan McLarnon (Massereene) 69 69 72 

211 Vitor Lopes (Por) 71 73 67, Matthew Jordan (Eng) 70 70 71, Sam Whitaker (Eng) 68 75 68 

212 James Sugrue (Mallow) 72 70 70, Alex Gleeson (Castle) 71 71 70 

213 Robert Cannon (Balbriggan) 76 68 69, Kevin Le Blanc (The Island) 72 69 72, William Enefer (Eng) 71 71 71, Tom Gandy (Isle of Man) 69 69 75 

214 Christian Braeunig (Ger) 77 67 70, Jamie Li (Eng) 73 73 68 

215 John-Ross Galbraith (Whitehead) 75 69 71, Mark Shanahan (Castlemartyr) 74 70 71, Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson (Den) 74 70 71, Evan Griffith (Wal) 74 67 74, Jack McDonnell (Forrest Little.) 72 73 70 

216 Robin Dawson (Tramore) 75 70 71, Charlie Strickland (Eng) 74 70 72, Adam Chapman (Eng) 69 74 73, Conor Purcell (Portmarnock) 69 72 75, Eanna Griffin (Waterford) 68 71 77 

217 Jamie Savage (Sco) 74 73 70, Gary McDermott (Carton House) 73 74 70, Cathal Butler (Kinsale) 71 74 72, Daniel Holland (Castle) 71 72 74 

218 Thomas Mulligan (Co. Louth) 74 73 71, Jack Singh Brar (Eng) 74 72 72, Patrick Mullins (Wal) 71 72 75 

219 Steven Robins (Eng) 74 72 73, Jake Whelan (Newlands) 74 72 73, George Bloor (Eng) 74 70 75, Liam Johnston (Sco) 73 75 71, Colin Fairweather (Knock) 73 73 73, Patrick Ruff (Eng) 73 73 73, Bradley Moore (Eng) 72 73 74, Jack Yule (Eng) 72 73 74 

220 Caolan Rafferty (Dundalk) 75 74 71, Pierre Verlaar (Ned) 75 74 71, Stuart Grehan (Tullamore) 75 73 72, Jonathan Yates (Naas) 75 69 76, Maximilian Holzwarth (Ger) 74 76 70, Craig Ross (Sco) 73 73 74, Ronan Mullarney (Galway) 72 73 75 

221 Conor O'Rourke (Naas) 76 71 74, Sigot Lopez (Esp) 75 75 71, Nicolas Schellong (Cze) 75 73 73, Kieron Harman (Wal) 75 72 74, Ian O'Rourke (Royal Dublin) 74 75 72, Shaun Carter (Royal Dublin) 74 74 73, Michael Reid (Galgorm Castle) 74 74 73, Aaron Grant (Dundalk) 74 73 74, Michael Harradine (Sui) 74 73 74, Gian-Marco Petrozzi (Eng) 71 73 77 

Non-qualifiers

222 Jack Davidson (Wal) 80 72 70, Moritz Hausweiler (Ger) 77 73 72, Tomas Silva (Por) 75 70 77, Joe Lyons (Galway) 74 75 73, Timo Vahlenkamp (Ger) 72 75 75 

223 Rowan Lester (Hermitage) 78 72 73, Michael Ryan (New Ross) 78 71 74, James Fox (Portmarnock) 75 73 75, Tim Bombosch (Ger) 74 74 75, Gavin Fitzmaurice (Balcarrick) 74 72 77, Sean Flanagan (Co. Sligo) 72 76 75, Khaled Attieh (KSA) 70 79 74, Barry Daly (Edmondstown) 69 78 76 

224 Jiri Zuska (Cze) 76 76 72, Dermot McElroy (Ballymena) 75 77 72, Nathan Brader (Por) 75 76 73, Niklas Adank (Ger) 75 71 78, Dwayne Mallon (Dungannon) 74 77 73, Neil McKinstry (Cairndhu) 73 75 76, David Hague (Eng) 73 75 76, Oliver Clarke (Eng) 73 74 77, Rhys Nevin-Wharton (Eng) 73 72 79, Sean Ryan (Royal Dublin) 71 79 74 

225 Kyle Harman (Wal) 77 74 74, Joao Girao (Por) 76 72 77, Phil Tomkinson (Eng) 75 74 76, John Hickey (Cork) 75 70 80, Owen Edwards (Wal) 74 77 74, Gary Collins (Rosslare) 72 80 73, Ferdinand Frederik Muller (Ger) 72 75 78 

226 Ben Best (Rathmore) 79 75 72 

227 David Ramsay (Wal) 78 71 78, Pierre Pineau (Fra) 76 74 77, Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock) 74 76 77 

228 Barry Anderson (Royal Dublin) 79 75 74, William Russell (Clandeboye) 79 73 76, Liam Grehan (Mullingar) 74 75 79, Cameron Long (Eng) 73 75 80, Cian Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown) 72 76 80 

229 Jonathan Thomson (Eng) 78 75 76, Loris Schuepbach (Sui) 71 81 77 

231 Ben Firth (Eng) 82 73 76, Jordan Hood (Galgorm Castle) 78 74 79, Harry Duggan (Kilkenny) 77 76 78, Adam Wilson (Wal) 75 78 78 

232 Scott Gibson (Sco) 84 74 74, Declan Reidy (Co. Sligo) 75 79 78 

233 Robert Foley (Sui) 77 79 77, Fraser Davren (Sco) 77 77 79 

234 Eugene Smith (Ardee) 82 72 80, Nick MacAndrew (Sco) 76 81 77 

235 Andrew McCormack (Castletroy) 79 75 81 

237 Tom Murray (Eng) 79 75 83 

238 Calum Fyfe (Sco) 78 79 81 

239 Thomas Hackett (Royal Dublin) 77 81 81, Paul Coughlan (Moate) 77 78 84, Julian Hausweiler (Ger) 73 81 85 

241 Matthew Kane (Whitehead) 78 78 85 

246 Benjamin Kinsley (Sco) 77 83 86 

WD James Newton (Eng) 79 76 WD, Declan O'Neill (Carton House) 82 76 WD.