Lester three clear at halfway in Connacht Stroke Play
Rowan Lester. Picture by Pat Cashman
Hermitage’s Rowan Lester birdied five of the eight par fives to card rounds of 68 and 70 and take a three-stroke lead into the final 36 holes of the Connacht Stroke Play Championship at Portumna.
The 2017 North of Ireland champion has been a consistent performer in the championships over the past few years, finishing as runner-up in the British Boys in 2014 as well as the South of Ireland at Lahinch in 2016 and 2018.
He leads on six-under from Malone’s Matthew McClean, who shot 70 and 71 with current Bridgestone Order of Merit leader Alan Fahy from Dun Laoghaire tied for third with Kilkenny’s Mark Power on two-under.
Elm Park’s John Cleary lies solo fifth on one-under with young guns Thomas Higgins from Roscommon and Galway’s Liam Nolan on level par.
The top 39 and ties made the cut on eight-over 152.
Connacht Stroke Play Championship, Portumna GC (SSS: 73, CSS: Round 1 75, Round 2 75; Par 72)
138 R Lester (Hermitage) 68 70
141 M McClean (Malone) 70 71
142 A Fahy (Dun Laoghaire) 73 69, M Power (Kilkenny) 72 70
143 J Cleary (Elm Park) 71 72
144 T Higgins (Roscommon)73 71, L Nolan (Galway 72 72
145 G Dunne (Co. Louth) 76 69, R Abernethy (Dun Laoghaire) 70 75
146 P O'Keeffe (Douglas) 72 74, P Buckley (Cork) 71 75
148 T O'Connor (Athlone) 75 73, M Deasy (Lee Valley) 75 73, C Campbell (Warrenpoint) 74 74, D Flynn (Carton House) 73 74, M Boucher (Carton House) 73 75
149 BV J Whelan (Newlands) 79 70,S Murphy (Portumna) 75 74, D Kitt (Athenry) 75 74, S Walker (Roscommon), 75, 74; C Nolan (Portmarnock) 72 77, H Foley (Royal Dublin) 72 77, B Best (Rathmore) 72 77
150 J Hill (Galgorm Castle) 77 73, K Egan (Carton House) 75 75, J McDonnell (Forrest Little) 74 76, J McCabe (Roganstown) 74 76, D Reddan Jnr (Nenagh) 73 77, S Desmond (Monkstown) 71 79
151 C Geraghty (Laytown & Bettystown) 79 72, D Marshall (Naas) 79 72, J Rackard (Enniscorthy) 78 73, S Flanagan (Portmarnock) 78 73, D O'Sullivan (Tralee) 77 74, P Coughlan (Castleknock) 76 75, K Murphy (Dun Laoghaire), 76 75, R Moran (Castle) 75 76, A Hickey (Galway Bay) 75 76
152 J McLoughlin (Portumna) 78 74, A Ryan (Thurles) 76 76, C Butler (Kinsale) 76 76, L Grehan (Mullingar) 75 77
Missed Cut
153 C Taylor (Kanturk) 81 72, A McCormack (Castletroy) 78 75, J Byrne (Baltinglass) 78 75. J Blake (The Island) 77 76, R Knightly (Royal Dublin) 75 78, K McCarthy (Lee Valley) 75 78, R Milne (Faithlegg) 75 78
154 A McCabe (The Links Portmarnock) 79 75, J Lyons (Galway) 79 75, E McCormack (Galway) 77 77, P Conroy (Enniscorthy) 74 80, E Sullivan (Carton House) 73 81
155 A Smith (Mullingar) 81 74, S Hogan (Nenagh) 79 76, S O'Connell (Athenry) 78 77, E Murphy (Dundalk) 75 80
156 A Collins (Laytown & Bettystown) 74 82
157 S Ryan (Royal Dublin) 82 75, J Keane (Lahinch) 80 77, E O'Donnell (Tralee) 80 77
158 D Keating (Seapoint) 78 80, T Ford (Co. Sligo) 78 80, G McKenna (Donaghadee) 77 81
159 S McDermott (Co. Cavan) 80 79, E Shipp (Headfort) 80 79, D Mulligan (The Links Portmarnock) 79 80, H Gillivan (Westport) 78 81, N Hearns (Mountrath) 75 84
163 E Collins (Laytown & Bettystown) 85 78
164 R Brazill (Naas) 80 84
169 S O'Connor (Castlebar) 83 86
Rtd 76 Q Carew (Palmerstown House Estate)
Rtd 79 T Dowdall (Woodbrook)
