1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…
Former Walker cup star mark power successfully overcame the first hurdle in his quest to become a LIV Golf card for next season, after the Mount Juliet-linked professional was one of 21 players to survive the first round of the LIV Promotions tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and advance to a second round in which a further 28 exempt players competed where the scores are reset.
Power was part of the hottest three-ball group, where his five-under-par 66 along with the 66 of Spaniard Borja Virto and England veteran David Horsey (67) saw all three advance to the second round (where all 49 players start from scratch ), after which the leading 20 players will advance to the final day’s 36 holes, with the winner claiming a place on the LIV Golf Circuit and 10 players receiving a spot in the International Series, promoted by the Asian Tour.
While Kilkenny man Power advanced and claimed it was a “positive round”, there was no joy for the other four Irish players in the field, with Matt McClean (68) missing out on his advance by one stroke. Alex Maguire (70), Liam Nolan (70) and Max Kennedy (72) failed to make the cut.
In the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in South Africa, a tournament co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Sunshine Tour, England’s Andy Sullivan shot a bogey-free eight-under-par round of 64 to claim a first one-stroke round. lead over three pursuers.
Tom McKibbin – who has cards for both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour for the coming year – opened with a three-under par 69, four birdies and a bogey, to sit in joint 19th place on a day of high scores with 61 players are below par.
However, Challenge Tour graduate Conor Purcell struggled to an opening three-over-par 75 to find himself in 121st place, facing an uphill battle to survive the cut.
Sullivan, a four-time winner of the DP World Tour, two of which came in South Africa, commented: “It’s important to get a good start because you know it’s going to get harder and harder as the weekend goes on. This place generally doesn’t get any easier, so a good start is nice, it gives you that little bit of a buffer, but you know you’re in for a serious grind in the coming days.
‘I did well. Last year I putted well and today the putting was really good. It saved me a few times and I holed some good birdie putts. But I felt like the greens suit me, so I have to keep the long game going.”
1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…