Kearney hangs tough to keep Munich push going
Niall Kearney of Ireland on the 18th green during the second round of The BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried. Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Niall Kearney chiselled out a level par 72 to remain on course for a bumper payday in the BMW International Open in Munich as Viktor Hovland showed his class and fired an eight-under 64 to take a three-shot lead into the final round.
The Royal Dublin man (33) quickly overcame his nerves and while he didn't hit his approach shot close enough to give himself multiple birdie chances, he birdied the last to go into the final round tied for fourth with Bernd Wiesberger on 11-under par, six strokes behind the Norwegian.
“Felt like I played pretty well,” said Kearney, who birdied the fourth then bogeyed the fifth before mixing bogeys at the 11th and 17th with birdies at the 12th and par-five 18th.
“Towards the end, it became a bit of a scrap. On a couple of the par fives, I felt like I hit decent tee shots but it was just about six or eight inches into the heavy stuff so couldn’t have a go at it.
“I felt as though I was hitting it into 20, 25 feet most of the day, which took birdies out of the equation. I was hitting it solid enough to hit two or three under par but ended up level par".”
Ranked 599th in the world and playing with tenuous Category 22 status, Kearney knows he must finish the job on Sunday and move up the Race to Dubai.
He’s projected to make a huge leap to 83rd if he remains where he is and he’s determined to stick to his steady, fairways and greens play that is his trademark and take his chances when he gets them.
“It could be a huge day,” he said. “Just got to stick to my own game plan. I thought some of the pins today I couldn’t really go at them. Viktor was obviously firing at everything, that was an unbelievable score he had but there is much more to it for me tomorrow, especially with limited opportunities. I need to play well, finish well and keep the wave going.”
MUNICH, GERMANY - JUNE 26: Viktor Hovland of Norway waves to the crowd after his birdie on the 18th hole during Day Three of The BMW International Open at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried on June 26, 2021 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)
Hovland is on course to become the first Norwegian winner in European Tour history after a brilliant eight-under-par round of 64.
The World No 14 signed for a 68 on day one despite finding the water three times and since then he has not looked back, adding a 67 on Friday to today’s bogey-free effort to get to 17 under par at Golfclub München Eichenried.
Spaniard Jorge Campillo is his closest challenger at 14 under par after a five-under-par round of 67, one shot clear of South African Darren Fichardt and three ahead of Kearney and Austria's Bernd Wiesberger, who shot 70 alongside the Dubliner.
Hovland already has two wins on the PGA TOUR and is currently 12th on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, having finished second at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession and sixth at the Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers.
That form on both sides of the Atlantic makes him a strong favourite to become the first Norwegian to play in the Ryder Cup in September - but he will be looking to enter the history books before that in Bavaria.
“Growing up I mainly watched the European Tour every Saturday and Sunday morning,” Hovland said. “That was my routine. We’ve had some runner up finishes in the past, but it would be really cool for Norway to get our first (European Tour) win.
“It’s a great course, if you pull off the shots you can make some eagles and some really easy birdies, but there is water around and if you don’t pull the shot off you can easily make a bogey. I’ve pulled off the shots more than I haven’t bit even the few times I’ve hit it into the water I've managed to make some good pars and keep things going. I like to play aggressive and make as many birdies as I can.
“I just try to stay within myself. Obviously, I look at leaderboards to see where I’m at, but instead of trying to force things, I just tell myself at the start of the day just to take control of my own game. If I don’t waste shots here and there, just play smart, trust that I’m doing the right things, I think I should have a really good shot tomorrow.”
Sweden's Vincent Norrman had a day to remember as he made his professional debut on the European Tour, holing a three wood from 270 yards on the par-four 16th for a hole-in-one albatross.
It was the 23rd ace of the season and second on a par four after South Korean Kyongjun Moon at the Kenya Savannah Classic supported by Absa
A two-time European Tour winner, Campillo has not recorded a top-10 finish since he was third in the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown last November but he’s looking forward to going head to head with Hovland.
“I played really well on the back nine, hit some great shots,” Campillo said after his 67. “On the front nine I gave myself some birdie chances but I missed a few short putts. Yesterday I didn’t play very well and I putted good, today I think I played great and I didn’t putt well. Hopefully tomorrow I can do both at the same time.
“I’ve played with Viktor before but he was great today. Great off the tee, always in position, and he made almost every putt he looked at. So, it was an easy game, he hit the fairway and made the putts. It was nice to watch.
“I’ll give it my best. Hopefully, I can play like today and make more putts. It will take that to beat him because he’s playing great. I’ll give it my best shot and I still have a chance tomorrow.”
As for Norman’s albatross, the Swede was thrilled to pull it off.
“I was kind of mad going into that hole (the 16th), actually,” he confessed. |I played really poorly and then my caddie gave me the go to go for it. It was a perfect three-wood number and I knew that I could miss it a little right and a little left of the pin so I was aggressive towards it.
“I hit it and I didn't see where it went and I just saw people behind the green going crazy and I kind of realised (it was a hole in one) as I walked off the tee almost, it was amazing.”
BMW International Open, Golfclub München Eichenried (P ar 72); Prize Fund: €1,500,000
199 V Hovland (Nor) 68 67 64,
202 J Campillo (Esp) 67 68 67,
203 D Fichardt (Rsa) 67 71 65,
205 B Wiesberger (Aut) 67 68 70, Niall Kearney (Irl) 65 68 72,
206 D Van Tonder (RSA) 70 71 65, J Harding (RSA) 69 69 68, M Schmid (Am) (Ger) 68 69 69, A Sullivan (Eng) 68 69 69, S Norris (RSA) 67 69 70,
207 S Horsfield (Eng) 64 77 66, J Walters (Rsa) 72 66 69, V Dubuisson (Fra) 69 69 69, M Jordan (Eng) 67 70 70, M Kaymer (Ger) 70 67 70,
208 R Fox (Nzl) 70 72 66, M Lee (Aus) 66 73 69, T Kanaya (Jpn) 72 67 69, S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 64 73 71, L Oosthuizen (RSA) 70 67 71, P Larrazábal (Esp) 66 70 72, M Kawamura (Jpn) 65 70 73,
209 A Rozner (Fra) 76 66 67, Z Lombard (Rsa) 69 73 67, A Johnston (Eng) 66 75 68, M Baldwin (Eng) 68 73 68, W Besseling (Ned) 72 69 68, T Pieters (Bel) 73 68 68, V Norrman (Swe) 69 69 71, C Hill (Sco) 69 68 72, A Saddier (Fra) 66 69 74,
210 R Mansell (Eng) 74 68 68, S Garcia (Esp) 73 69 68, M Schwab (Aut) 71 70 69, J Kruyswijk (Rsa) 69 72 69, D Horsey (Eng) 71 70 69, A Ca?izares (Esp) 69 71 70, R Hojgaard (Den) 70 70 70, A Romero (Arg) 72 68 70, N Hojgaard (Den) 70 69 71, S Kim (Usa) 70 68 72,
211 J Morrison (Eng) 73 69 69, K Broberg (Swe) 70 71 70, J Geary (Nzl) 69 71 71, N Elvira (Esp) 69 70 72, S Crocker (Usa) 71 67 73, A Otaegui (Esp) 68 69 74,
212 D Whitnell (Eng) 69 73 70, D Van Driel (Ned) 71 71 70, D Burmester (RSA) 71 71 70, M Schneider (Ger) 69 73 70, J Janewattananond (Tha) 68 73 71, J Guerrier (Fra) 69 72 71, B Poke (Den) 72 69 71, R Roussel (Fra) 71 69 72, D Gavins (Eng) 69 71 72, M Antcliff (Aus) 70 69 73, J Ritchie (RSA) 66 72 74, G Porteous (Eng) 67 71 74,
213 J Winther (Den) 74 68 71, S Hend (Aus) 73 68 72, L De Jager (Rsa) 72 68 73, A Quiros (Esp) 70 67 76,
214 P Mejow (Ger) 71 71 72, C Pigem (Esp) 74 68 72, F Schott (Ger) 73 69 72, D Law (Sco) 69 71 74,
215 S Brown (Eng) 72 70 73, D Howell (Eng) 74 68 73, S Kjeldsen (Den) 73 68 74, W Ormsby (Aus) 65 75 75,
216 L Gagli (Ita) 71 71 74, G Forrest (Sco) 69 73 74, T Olesen (Den) 69 73 74, M Warren (Sco) 68 71 77,
217 N Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 72 70 75, N Colsaerts (Bel) 70 72 75.
