Carvill and O'Briain lead Irish PGA Assistants Championship

Old Conna's Neil O'Briain. Picture: Thos Caffrey / www.golffile.ie

Belvoir Park's Christopher Carvill and Old Conna's Neil O'Briain have a narrow advantage after day one of the Irish PGA Assistants Championship at the Nuremore Hotel and Country Club in County Monaghan.

The pair finished Tuesday's 36-hole marathon on one under par (141) a shot ahead of David Ruddy and Headfort's Joe Dillon. 

Fog delayed the start of play but fears that all the competitors would get finished before darkness set in proved unfounded.

Carvill opened his account with a one over par round of 72 but improved in the second round, carding a two under par 69 that included an eagle at the par five 14th.

In similar fashion, O'Briain improved in the afternoon, signing for a three under par 68 to follow up his opening round 73.

The top 36 players qualified for Wednesday's final round. Alan Staunton (Hollywood Lakes), Matthew Dunmore (Bundoran), Ciaran Hegarty (Kilcock) and Mark Weatherall made it through on the mark of 160.

Irish PGA Assistants Championship, Nuremore Hotel and Country Club (Par 71)

Qualifiers (the cut fell at 18 over 160) Full scores

T1 Christopher Carvill 72/69 (141)

T1 Neil O'Briain 73/68 (141)

T3 Joe Dillon 71/71 (142)

T3 David Ruddy 71/71 (142)

T5 Brian Doheny 72/72 (144)

T5 Keith Shannon 69/75 (144)

7 Ross Young 74/71 (145)

T8 Shane O'Sullivan 74/72 (146)

T8 Ian Brennan 73/73 (146)

T8 Shane McCabe 69/77 (146)

T8 Christopher Crangle 71/75 (146)

T8 Noel Murray 71/75 (146)

T13 Patrick Sheehy 74/73 (147)

T13 Graham Donohoe 72/75 (147)

15 Andrew Peoples 72/76 (148)

16 Michael Leathem 75/74 (149)

T17 Patrick Small 74/76 (150)

T17 Iarlaith Keane 75/75 (150)

T17 Steven Quinlan 79/71 (150)

T20 Frank Holly 71/80 (151)

T20 Corey Doherty 75/76 (151)

T20 Hazel Kavanagh 75/76 (151)

T23 David Allen 76/76 (152)

T23 Gareth Graham 74/78 (152)

T25 Matthew McCarthy 75/78 (153)

T25 Shane Comer 78/75 (153)

27 Mark Murphy 76/79 (155)

T28 Warren Ryan 79/77 (156)

T28 Ross Oliver 78/78 (156)

T30 Andrew Owens 79/78 (157)

T30 Victoria Bradshaw 79/78 (157)

T30 Craig Lyall 79/78 (157)

33 Ben Doyle 80/79 (159)

T34 Matthew Dunmore 77/83 (160)

T34 Ciaran Hegarty 75/85 (160)

T34 Mark Weatherall  75/85 (160)

T34 Alan Staunton 75/85 (160)