Heavy overnight rain on the north coast meant play was delayed by thirty minutes on the opening day of the Ulster Men’s & Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Open Championships but the wait did nothing to hamper the play of Adam Buchanan (Royal Portrush) and Annabel Wilson (Castlerock) as both take an overnight lead into the final round at Clandeboye Golf Club.
Buchanan was the first man to tee off this morning and made a brilliant start as the Irish underage international signed for an opening round of 67 highlighted by eagles on the par fives 6th and 15th.
While the afternoon session proved tougher, a three birdie stretch across 14, 15 and 16 helped steady the ship and the Ballymena native carded a second round 73 to hand him a two-shot lead over Grange golfer Jake Whelan.
“Delighted with it, played pretty good. I think started off a bit slow with bogey on the first but made a few pars after and was able to go eagle-birdie on six and seven,” said Buchanan.
“Played pretty solid again and an eagle on 15 got me back to three-under, another 30-yard wedge shot held out there and was able to finish out the round with birdie on 17. Very happy, delighted and ready to go tomorrow”.
Women’s Spanish Amateur semi-finalist Wilson was one of only two women to card back-to-back under par rounds. The Castlerock golfer began her day with an almost perfect round, bogeying only once on the par four 17th on her way to a two-under round of 71.
Round Two saw another strong performance from the former Irish Close champion, notching four birdies across her final eleven holes to sign for another 71.
“Good day overall, a lot of good golf. First nine there was a few mistakes, just felt like as the day went on, I was just getting sharper and knew the course a little better each hole.
“Some of the things I did in round one, kind of silly mistakes I was able to tidy up in the second round so delighted with how I was able to get better each nine,” said Wilson.
“I think what’s important for me and what worked well for me today is just sticking to my routine and making sure I’m 100% intentful over every shot.
“It worked today so I’m going to continue that tomorrow and just try and be even sharper tomorrow and play the course a little better and we’ll see where that takes me”.
Rebekah Gardner finds herself just two shots adrift of Wilson at the top of the leaderboard to keep alive local hopes of the trophy remaining in Clandeboye for another year.
The Down native put together back-to-back rounds of 72, finishing her day with three birdies to keep within touching distance of top spot.
The women’s cut line was set at +13 with top 14 plus ties making their way to the final round on Tuesday while the men’s top 29 plus ties progress to round three.
With more inclement weather expected in Clandeboye, the final rounds of the Ulster Men’s & Women’s Amateur Stroke Play Open Championships get underway with a shotgun start tomorrow morning.
