Harrington fades in UAE as Nolan contends in RSA
Padraig Harrington’s hopes of becoming the DP World Tour’s oldest winner faded in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in the UAE.
The Dubliner (53) made two birdies at Al Hamra, but a double bogey at the 10th and four bogeys, including two in his last three holes, saw him card a three-over 75 to scrape through the cut mark on the one-under cut line.
He’s now 11 shots behind England’s Marcus Armitage, who shot 69 to lead by two shots from Dan Brown and Alejandro del Rey on 12-under.
Tom McKibbin shot 69 but missed the cut by two shots with Conor Purcell four shots further back after a 77.
It was a far better day for rookie Nolan, who shot a five-under 67 to lurk just three shots behind local man Altin van der Merwe in his quest for a maiden Challenge Tour win in the SDC Open in South Africa.
The Galwayman (24) is playing on an invitation at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa and hoping that hitting fairways at the challenging Limpopo venue will be enough to give him a chance of earning full Challenge Tour status.
“I just kind of picked up from where I left off yesterday,” said Nolan, who shares fifth place on eight under par.
“The greens are so firm and the rough can be a bit patchy sometimes. So if you can get in the fairway, you can control your ball going into the green and get at these pins.
“So if that means not hitting driver on every hole and just making sure I hit fairways, then that's what we've been doing so far, and it's been working really well.”
Max Kennedy shot a second successive 73 to miss the cut by four strokes, while Shane Lowry missed the cut by two shots in the Farmers Insurance Open following his wind-lashed second-round 75 on the North Course at Torrey Pines.
Lowry will return to the San Diego venue next month after the PGA Tour opted to move The Genesis Invitational from Riviera to the South Course from February 13-16 “due to the ongoing natural disaster in Greater Los Angeles and out of respect for those affected.”
Meanwhile, the 2024 KPMG Women's Irish Open won Tournament of the Year and Best Course Condition at Thursday's Ladies European Tour Awards in London.
