Campbell heads McIlroy in Mullingar test
Rory McIlroy. Picture: Pat Cashman
Revitalised Rory McIlroy is licking his lips at the prospect of a head-to-head battle with Mark Campbell for the Mullingar Scratch Cup.
The Irish Close and West of Ireland champion is feeling full of energy after a three-week break from the game and is lurking menacingly just two strokes adrift of Stackstown man Campbell entering the final 36 holes at the midlands venue.
The 17-year-old Holywood star carded rounds of 68 and 67 to finish the day on nine under par as Campbell followed a course record, seven under par 65 with an eagle at the 18th for a second round 68 and an 11-under-par total.
“It’s nice to see the hard work paying off and I played really nicely this morning to shoot that score,” Campbell said of his opening 65. “It was very wet and hard to get going this morning but I played well and could even have been one or two better than 65, but I’ll take it.”
McIlroy followed a two-week holiday in southern Spain with a week of practice with his coach Michael Bannon and some short game practice with National Coach Neil Manchip.
And he is looking forward to going one better than last year when he was edged out for the title by Lurgan's Gareth Shaw in a sudden-death play-off.
McIlroy said: "I was nice to get a break and I really enjoy coming to Mullingar because the course seems to set up for me. It is not that long and there is a lot of wedge play required, which is good because I am pretty good with the wedges."
Campbell, 26, is in process of putting the finishing touches to a massive doctoral thesis at UCD entitled: “Slope Perception: How golfers read greens.”
And he certainly put his theories to good use in the first two rounds of the classic Mullingar event as he compiled impressive rounds of 65 and 68 to take a two-stroke lead over Irish champion Rory McIlroy into the final two rounds.
His seven-under-par first round 65 established a new course record for the redesigned midlands gem and put him three shots clear of McIlroy at lunch.
And he went on to maintain his position at the head of affairs when he erased a double-bogey at the 17th with a superb three-iron to 12 feet setting up an eagle three at the last.
A former winner of the South and East of Ireland titles, Campbell had five birdies and an eagle three at the 16th in his morning round before adding an eagle and five birdies to a bogey and a double-bogey in the afternoon.
“It’s nice to see the hard work paying off and I played really nicely this morning to shoot that score,” he said of his opening 65. “It was very wet and hard to get going but I played well and could even have been one or two better than 65, but I’ll take it.”
However, the leading pair won’t have it all their own way on the final day with Royal Dublin's Neil O Briain on five under par and Westport’s Cathal O’Malley, who equalled Campbell’s course record 65 in the afternoon, lurking just seven strokes adrift on four under alongside Malahide's Gavin O'Connor and South of Ireland winner Simon Ward.
Mullingar Scratch Trophy, sponsored by Owens Concrete, Mullingar GC (Par 72)
Final day tee times
06:38 11:38 Geoff Lenehan (Portmarnock) Gary Flynn (Delgany)
06:46 11:46 B Fennelly (Royal Dublin) Aidan Dooley (Athlone) Michael Lavelle (K Club)
06:54 11:54 Jason Somers (L'town & B'town) James Quinlivan (Mullingar) S McSweeney (Cork)
07:02 12:02 Russell Durnin (L'town & B'town) Patrick Higgins (Mullingar) Richard Kilpatrick (Banbridge)
07:10 12:10 G Lawlor (Citywest) Cian McNamara (Limerick) Bernard O'Brien (Headfort)
07:18 12:18 David Houlihan (K Club) Brian O'Connor (Hermitage) Paul Buckley (Kanturk)
07:26 12:26 Alan Dowling (Hermitage) Aengus McAllister (Portmarnock) Dara Lernihan (Castle)
07:34 12:34 John McGinn (L'town & B'town) Alex McCloy (Ballymena) Rory McNamara (Headfort)
07:42 12:42 James Fox (Portmarnock) David Scully (Galway) Shane Gannon (Co Louth
07:50 12:50 Greg Carew (Edenderry) Kevin Metcalfe (Mullingar) Joe Lyons (Galway)
07:58 12:58 John Waldron (Muskerry) Gareth Shaw (Lurgan) Ger Hall (Edenderry)
08:06 13:06 Greg Bowden (Hermitage) Rory Leonard (Banbridge) Ciaran O'Connor (Athlone)
08:14 13:14 Shane Lowry (Esker Hills) Des Morgan (Mullingar) Jim Carvill (Warrenpoint)
08:22 13:22 Brendan Walton (The Island) Niall Turner (Muskerry) Eoin Arthurs (Forrest Little)
08:30 13:30 John Morris (Mullingar) Jonathan Caldwell (Clandeboye) Peter O'Keeffe (Douglas)
08:38 13:38 Gavin O'Connor (Malahide) Simon Ward (Co Louth) Cathal O'Malley (Westport)
08:46 13:46 Neil O Briain (Royal Dublin) Rory McIlroy (Holywood) Mark Campbell (Stackstown)
After 36 holes
133 M Campbell (Stackstown) 65 68
135 R McIlroy (Holywood) 68 67
139 N O Briain (Royal Dublin) 69 70
140 C O'Malley (Westport) 75 65, S Ward (Co Louth) 73 67, G O'Connor (Malahide) 69 71
141 P O'Keeffe (Douglas) 73 68, J Caldwell (Clandeboye) 73 68, J Morris (Mullingar) 73 68
142 E Arthurs (Forrest Little) 74 68, N Turner (Muskerry) 73 69
143 B Walton (The Island) 73 70, J Carvill (Warrenpoint) 73 70
144 D Morgan (Mullingar) 75 69, S Lowry (Esker Hills) 73 71, C O'Connor (Athlone) 71 73
145 R Leonard (Banbridge) 77 68, G Bowden (Hermitage) 76 69, G Hall (Edenderry) 75 70, G Shaw (Lurgan) 74 71, J Waldron (Muskerry) 72 73
146 J Lyons (Galway) 75 71, K Metcalfe (Mullingar) 74 72, G Carew (Edenderry) 74 72
147 S Gannon (Co Louth) 75 72, D Scully (Galway) 75 72, J Fox (Portmarnock) 74 73
148 R McNamara (Headford) 75 73, A McCloy (Ballymena) 74 74
149 J McGinn (L'town & B'town) 75 74, D Lernihan (Castle) 75 74
150 A McAllister (Portmarnock) 79 71, A Dowling (Hermitage) 78 72, P Buckley (Kanturk) 78 72, C Cunningham (Mullingar) 77 73, B O'Connor (Hermitage) 75 75, D Houlihan (K Club) 75 75, B O'Brien (Headfort) 75 75, C McNamara (Limerick) 75 75, G Lawlor (Citywest) 75 75, R Kilpatrick (Banbridge) 73 77
151 P Higgans (Mullingar) 77 74, R Durnin (L'town & B'town) 76 75, S McSweeney (Cork) 76 75, J Quinlivan (Mullingar) 75 76, J Somers (L'town & B'town) 75 76
152 M Lavelle (K Club) 79 73, A Dooley (Athlone) 78 74, B Fennelly (Royal Dublin) 76 76, G Flynn (Delgany) 76 76, G Lenehan (Portmarnock) 76 76
Non-qualifiers
153 G Nugent (Kilkenny) 81 72, J Toner (Woodbrook) 76 77, A Murphy (Newlands) 75 78, D Lally (Tuam) 74 79
154 R Williams (Baltinglass) 79 75, G Shaw (Mullingar) 77 77, J Ward (Tandragee) 77 77, S Dwyer (Newlands) 77 77, N Boyd (Donaghadee) 74 80
155 M Rowe (Athlone) 79 76, K Marron (Stockley Park) 78 77, P O'Brien (Lucan) 77 78, R Maher (Mullingar) 74 81
156 N Cullen (Laytown & Bettystown) 75 81
157 S Grant (Birr) 81 76
158 T O'Neill (Rathsallagh) 77 81
159 B McSweeney (Woodbrook) 78 81, A Boyle (Hollystown) 75 84
160 D Coyne (Tuam) 82 78, S McDermott (Carlow) 78 82
161 R O'Reilly (Headfort) 82 79, A McCully (Banbridge) 82 79
162 M Reck (Lucan) 81 81
164 S Comer (Citywest) 78 86
166 B Quigley (Birr) 84 82
NR D Downey (Sutton) NR, B O'Riordan (Muskerry) NR
RTD B O'Riordan (Muskerry) - RT, J McNicholas (Ballyhaunis) 80 RT, D Downey (Sutton) - RT, S O'Flaherty (Hermitage) 76 RT