The German carded four birdies, including at the last hole, to card a three over par 74 and to move into the third round lead.

“I really didn’t hit many great shots,” Čejka conceded. “I kind of drove it in play but had three, four really poor shots, cost me a bogey, but overall, I made a couple birdies. Three over is three over. It was a tough day for everybody. Still on top of the leaderboard, so I’m pleased.”

Pádraig Harrington and Englishman Phillip Archer were two of seven players to shoot a level par 71, the low round of the day. They moved into a tie for second place alongside New Zealand’s Steven Alker and three-time Major winner Vijay Singh on one over par.

“I didn’t feel I had done much wrong”

Following his third round, Pádraig Harrington said:

“I didn’t feel like I had done much wrong to be three over. In one sense I felt okay about how I was playing and the other sense, I wasn’t sure. You’re never quite sure how the rest of the field is going to go. I’m four over par, the leader is four under, and you’re kind of worried you’re going to get eight, nine shots at the end of the day, which is too much.

“Obviously a big break on the last. Hit 3-wood, 9-iron to five feet. It was inches. I was going to hit the putt left lip, and I was standing over and it was blowing and blowing. I ended up hitting it — tried to hit it left half, probably hit it straight and just got in the right side.

“You know, I’ve chipped poorly this week. That’s my strength and I chipped poorly. I had two big long weeks. You know, I didn’t finish as well as I would have wanted in Scotland, and then The Open, being a major, I was just working hard for two weeks. You know what, I put down a few down chips just to being mentally tired.”

Second round leader Alker struggled to a five over par round of 76 but still remains in the hunt for his second Senior Major title after recording an ace at the par three 15th hole, the 14th in Senior Open history.

Clarke and Mooney

American Jerry Kelly and Scotland’s Grieg Hutcheon share sixth place on two over par, while 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie, America’s Mario Tiziani and Australia’s Richard Green are a shot further back in a tie for eighth.

Darren Clarke shot a third round of 73, to go with round of 73 and 74 respectively. The Dungannon man is on 220, seven shots off the leader.

Damian Mooney carded his worst round of the competition so far, singing for a 75 on Saturday. He is a further two strokes behind his fellow Irish golfer Darren Clarke.

Germany’s Bernhard Langer remains in the hunt for a fifth Senior Open title – and third at Royal Porthcawl – as he sits in a tie for 11th on four over, alongside nine others including Welsh duo Bradley Dredge and Phil Price.

Scores after round three (select scores):

213 A CEJKA (GER) 68 71 74, 
 214 P HARRINGTON 75 68 71, P ARCHER (ENG) 73 70 71, V SINGH (FIJ) 69 72 73, S ALKER (NZL) 70 68 76, 
 215 J KELLY (USA) 73 71 71, G HUTCHEON (SCO) 72 68 75, 
 216 R GREEN (AUS) 72 73 71, M TIZIANI (USA) 68 75 73, P LAWRIE (SCO) 70 71 75, 
 217 J SINGH (IND) 69 77 71, M JONZON (SWE) 74 72 71, E MCINTOSH (SCO) 74 71 72, S KHAN (ENG) 73 71 73, T GILLIS (USA) 70 74 73, P PRICE (WAL) 72 72 73, B DREDGE (WAL) 71 72 74, T JAIDEE (THA) 73 70 74, B LANGER (GER) 73 69 75, 
 218 K CHOI (KOR) 75 72 71, K DUKE (USA) 71 73 74, C MONTGOMERIE (SCO) 72 70 76, A HANSEN (DEN) 72 69 77, 
 219 M MOLINA (ARG) 72 74 73, J HAEGGMAN (SWE) 74 71 74, C DENNIS (USA) 72 72 75, P SJ?LAND (SWE) 73 71 75, P STREETER (ENG) 73 71 75, J SANDELIN (SWE) 70 73 76, E CANONICA (ITA) 72 70 77, P BROADHURST (ENG) 70 71 78, 
 220 D CLARKE 73 74 73, G DAY (USA) 76 71 73, K TANIGAWA (USA) 73 72 75, D MCGUIGAN (SCO) 75 69 76, G ORR (SCO) 71 72 77, S BERTSCH (USA) 73 69 78, K HORNE (RSA) 70 72 78, S TINNING (DEN) 72 70 78, 
 221 R GONZALEZ (ARG) 73 73 75, M CAMPBELL (NZL) 77 69 75, T PETROVIC (USA) 74 72 75, H FRAZAR (USA) 73 72 76, D BRANSHAW (USA) 73 72 76, 
 222 D MOONEY 73 74 75, R CHAPMAN (ENG) 77 70 75, H FUJITA (JPN) 75 72 75, D MCKENZIE (AUS) 76 70 76, J KEMP (AM) (ENG) 74 71 77, J REMESY (FRA) 72 71 79, 

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The Dungannon golfer birdied the final hole to finish the tournament at -10, one shot ahead of Harrington who watched on anxiously from the clubhouse.

The moment @DarrenClarke60 won The #SeniorOpen Presented by @ROLEX pic.twitter.com/QevVaw6zym

— Legends Tour (@euLegendsTour) July 24, 2022

The 53-year-old becomes the fourth man to win both The Open and The Senior Open, placing his name alongside Bob Charles, Gary Player and Tom Watson.

“I’ve made no secret of the fact that I wanted to win this more than anything,” Clarke admitted. “From when I turned 50, this is the one you wanted to win, so I could set it beside the other one. Pretty good feeling right now.

“Very privileged to get my name on The Open trophy and the Claret Jug, and now to get my name on this one as well and go beside some legends of the game. I feel very humbled and very honoured,” the County Tyrone golfer said.

Here’s what our #SeniorOpen Champion @DarrenClarke60 had to say after his win pic.twitter.com/2duxftlE8a

— Legends Tour (@euLegendsTour) July 24, 2022

Clarke’s round on the final day saw him par the front nine holes. He dropped a shot at the 10^th before carding a birdie two holes later.

Following a poor opening nine holes, Dubliner Harrington shot six birdies on the way home to carda 67 for a nine-under-par total.

His three under par round of 67 was enough to secure his third runner-up finish in Senior Major Championships this season, in addition to his U.S. Senior Open triumph.

Six players shared third place on eight under par, including third round co-leader Paul Broadhurst and four-time Major winner Ernie Els from South Africa.

Final scores (Irish players highlighted):

 270 D CLARKE 65 67 69 69, 
 271 P HARRINGTON 66 69 69 67, 
 272 M MOLINA (ARG) 68 69 70 65, D BARRON (USA) 69 71 67 65, E ELS (RSA) 66 69 69 68, T JAIDEE (THA) 66 71 67 68, S ALKER (NZL) 68 68 66 70, P BROADHURST (ENG) 65 70 66 71, 
 273 C MONTGOMERIE (SCO) 70 66 68 69, 
 275 P LAWRIE (SCO) 69 70 69 67, Y YANG (KOR) 73 65 68 69, 
 276 A CEJKA (GER) 70 73 64 69, C WI (KOR) 73 66 67 70, B LANGER (GER) 67 68 70 71, J KINGSTON (RSA) 70 69 66 71, 
 277 R GOOSEN (RSA) 70 69 70 68, S KHAN (ENG) 66 72 70 69, M BROWN (USA) 72 67 68 70, 
 278 S APPLEBY (AUS) 70 67 67 74, 
 279 P O’MALLEY (AUS) 71 69 70 69, S AMES (CAN) 64 71 74 70, K DUKE (USA) 69 69 71 70, S PAREL (USA) 66 68 74 71, K JONES (USA) 65 70 73 71, P PRICE (WAL) 69 71 68 71, J KELLY (USA) 65 70 67 77, 
 280 P MARKSAENG (THA) 68 71 70 71, C DENNIS (USA) 69 68 69 74, 
 281 C FRANCO (PAR) 72 71 69 69, M MARTIN (ESP) 66 70 73 72, I WOOSNAM (WAL) 71 70 68 72, G HOUSTON (WAL) 68 69 71 73, M JIMÍNEZ (ESP) 69 67 71 74, 
 282 T BJORN (DEN) 67 74 71 70, M WATSON (ENG) 74 65 71 72, 
 283 G DAY (USA) 64 72 77 70, H FRAZAR (USA) 69 73 69 72, T GILLIS (USA) 70 70 70 73, C PAVIN (USA) 69 69 71 74, M DAWSON (USA) 69 69 70 75, 
 284 J HAEGGMAN (SWE) 71 71 74 68, D FROST (RSA) 67 68 77 72, R GREEN (AUS) 67 72 72 73, A DA SILVA (BRA) 69 70 71 74, D MORLAND IV (CAN) 71 69 69 75, A OLDCORN (SCO) 70 71 67 76, 
 285 K TRIPLETT (USA) 72 70 72 71, S DODD (WAL) 69 72 71 73, C KRESGE (USA) 72 70 70 73, P MCGINLEY 71 71 69 74, J SENDEN (AUS) 67 71 72 75, W AUSTIN (USA) 70 73 67 75, 
 286 D PRIDE (USA) 66 73 75 72, J REMESY (FRA) 69 70 73 74, M BRIER (AUT) 67 72 73 74, G OWEN (ENG) 69 72 71 74, J KEMP (AM) (ENG) 73 69 67 77, 
 287 W SHORT JR (USA) 72 71 70 74, R COCHRAN (USA) 73 69 70 75, 
 288 T FOSTER (AM) (ENG) 71 71 73 73, R DINSDALE (WAL) 72 71 70 75, A BOSSERT (SUI) 70 70 71 77, 
 289 Y TSUKADA (JPN) 70 73 72 74, P STREETER (ENG) 70 71 72 76, A BUTTERFIELD (ENG) 67 73 72 77, 
 290 M CAMPBELL (NZL) 71 70 72 77, 
 291 M JONZON (SWE) 71 72 76 72, R GOMEZ (ARG) 76 66 72 77, 
 295 T LEVET (FRA) 69 73 74 79, 
 296 H RUDOLPH III (USA) 73 68 77 78, S HENDERSON (SCO) 69 71 75 81.

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The Dungannon man leads on eight under par, two shots ahead of American Scott Parel. Four back nine birdies saw Clarke set the target before the temperature dropped in the afternoon and made it difficult for anyone to challenge his lead.

The 2011 Open Champion made the turn in one over par after bogeys at the second and seventh sandwiched a birdie at the fourth.

“Around the front nine today, I was so-so. I slipped” said the Tyrone golfer. “My right foot slipped a couple of times. But apart from that, I played really nicely. I’m trying to hit a lot of fairways and give myself decent looks. All the way around the back nine, I kept hitting nice shots. And could have been a few better. But, you know, it’s the way it is.”

Darren Clarke then mirrored his opening day back nine with birdies at the tenth, 14th, 15th and 18th.

Bids for Open – Senior Open double

Clarke, who has three wins on the PGA TOUR Champions since turning 50, is in pole position to claim his first Senior Major Championship. He will need to fend off a star-studded leaderboard if he is to become only the fourth man to win both The Open Championship and The Senior Open.

Fellow former Champion Golfers of the Year Ernie Els and Pádraig Harrington, who will also bid to join Bob Charles, Gary Player and Tom Watson in completing the historic double. Harrington and Els are three strokes back in a share for third place on five under par, alongside four-time Senior Open Champion Bernhard Langer, 2016 winner Paul Broadhurst, American duo Kent Jones and Jerry Kelly, Canadian Stephen Ames and South African David Frost.

Round two scores (Irish players highlighted):

132 D CLARKE 65 67,
134 S PAREL (USA) 66 68,
135 D FROST (RSA) 67 68, E ELS (RSA) 66 69, P BROADHURST (ENG) 65 70, S AMES (CAN) 64 71, P HARRINGTON 66 69, B LANGER (GER) 67 68, J KELLY (USA) 65 70, K JONES (USA) 65 70,
136 G DAY (USA) 64 72, S ALKER (NZL) 68 68, C MONTGOMERIE (SCO) 70 66, M JIMÉNEZ (ESP) 69 67, M MARTIN (ESP) 66 70,
137 S APPLEBY (AUS) 70 67, T JAIDEE (THA) 66 71, M MOLINA (ARG) 68 69, C DENNIS (USA) 69 68, G HOUSTON (WAL) 68 69,
138 Y YANG (KOR) 73 65, K DUKE (USA) 69 69, J SENDEN (AUS) 67 71, M DAWSON (USA) 69 69, S KHAN (ENG) 66 72, C PAVIN (USA) 69 69,
139 M WATSON (ENG) 74 65, D PRIDE (USA) 66 73, J KINGSTON (RSA) 70 69, P LAWRIE (SCO) 69 70, M BROWN (USA) 72 67, J REMESY (FRA) 69 70, M BRIER (AUT) 67 72, R GREEN (AUS) 67 72, R GOOSEN (RSA) 70 69, P MARKSAENG (THA) 68 71, A DA SILVA (BRA) 69 70, C WI (KOR) 73 66,
140 P O’MALLEY (AUS) 71 69, D BARRON (USA) 69 71, S HENDERSON (SCO) 69 71, T GILLIS (USA) 70 70, D MORLAND IV (CAN) 71 69, P PRICE (WAL) 69 71, A BOSSERT (SUI) 70 70, A BUTTERFIELD (ENG) 67 73,
141 H RUDOLPH III (USA) 73 68, S DODD (WAL) 69 72, T BJ?RN (DEN) 67 74, I WOOSNAM (WAL) 71 70, M CAMPBELL (NZL) 71 70, G OWEN (ENG) 69 72, P STREETER (ENG) 70 71, A OLDCORN (SCO) 70 71,
142 J KEMP (AM) (ENG) 73 69, C KRESGE (USA) 72 70, T LEVET (FRA) 69 73, K TRIPLETT (USA) 72 70, P MCGINLEY 71 71, H FRAZAR (USA) 69 73, R COCHRAN (USA) 73 69, T FOSTER (AM) (ENG) 71 71, J HAEGGMAN (SWE) 71 71, R GOMEZ (ARG) 76 66,
143 R DINSDALE (WAL) 72 71, C FRANCO (PAR) 72 71, Y TSUKADA (JPN) 70 73, A CEJKA (GER) 70 73, W AUSTIN (USA) 70 73, W SHORT JR (USA) 72 71, M JONZON (SWE) 71 72,
144 S BERTSCH (USA) 73 71, P WILSON (ENG) 71 73, J BICKERTON (ENG) 69 75, J COCERES (ARG) 74 70, G WOLSTENHOLME (ENG) 71 73, R STRAWN (AM) (USA) 72 72, B BREEN (USA) 69 75, T PETROVIC (USA) 68 76, S MICHEEL (USA) 72 72, D SHACKLADY (ENG) 70 74, T G?GELE (GER) 73 71, S WHIFFIN (ENG) 70 74,
145 V SINGH (FIJ) 72 73, S TINNING (DEN) 75 70, F QUINN (USA) 71 74, J RIPLEY (ENG) 74 71, J CARRILES (ESP) 74 71, K TANIGAWA (USA) 71 74,
146 T SAPERE (USA) 75 71, I FELIU (ESP) 73 73, N SHINOZAKI (JPN) 69 77, A MCLEAN (CAN) 74 72, M REALE (ITA) 70 76, S EDWARDS (WAL) 74 72, E MCINTOSH (SCO) 75 71,
147 P BAKER (ENG) 76 71, R CHAPMAN (ENG) 74 73, J OLAZÁBAL (ESP) 73 74, R LABRITZ (USA) 75 72, A ARCHIBALD (ENG) 74 73, A RAITT (ENG) 72 75, P GOLDING (ENG) 72 75, R GONZALEZ (ARG) 72 75, B KEENAN (AM) (USA) 73 74,
148 P WESSELINGH (ENG) 72 76, D CHARLTON (ENG) 73 75, J SANDELIN (SWE) 75 73, J WADE (AUS) 73 75, G HJERTSTEDT (USA) 73 75, M MCCOY (AM) (USA) 75 73,
149 S GREEN (ENG) 72 77, C ACUTIS (ITA) 75 74, P FOWLER (AUS) 73 76, J BARNES (ENG) 78 71, G JOYNER (AUS) 73 76, D DUVAL (USA) 75 74,
150 C WILLIAMS (RSA) 73 77, J LYONS (USA) 75 75, S LYLE (SCO) 72 78, J SINGH (IND) 75 75,
151 S FITZGERALD 76 75, J CRAMPTON (AM) (ENG) 73 78, E CANONICA (ITA) 72 79, K KAMI (NEP) 76 75,
152 R ALLENBY (AUS) 76 76, A WELSFORD (AUS) 77 75,
153 M STEVENSON (ENG) 77 76, M ASHWORTH (ENG) 78 75, R MAXFIELD (AM) (ENG) 76 77, L MATTIACE (USA) 74 79,
154 R BEEM (USA) 77 77, N BEAUFILS (FRA) 75 79, B CAMERON (ENG) 80 74, R SABARROS (FRA) 77 77,
155 N CONNOLLY (ENG) 78 77,
156 N FASTH (SWE) 78 78,
158 J WARNE (USA) 76 82, R TUDDENHAM (ENG) 75 83,
159 D CARTER (ENG) 78 81, R GERWIN II (AM) (USA) 78 81,
160 R BARNES (AM) (ENG) 80 80,
163 B ROLLINSON (USA) 81 82,
**
OUT B LANE (ENG) 71 WD

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The two-time winner of The Open will make his Senior Open bow in Scotland alongside fellow double Open Champion Ernie Els, as well as Darren Clarke, Tom Lehman and Sandy Lyle, who have all lifted the Claret Jug.

The Senior Open will visit Gleneagles for the first time in 2022 as the 2014 Ryder Cup venue welcomes the stars of the over-50s game for Europe’s only Senior Major Championship.

Harrington, and his fellow Open Champions, will bid to become only the fourth player in golf history to lift both the Claret Jug and the Senior Open trophy when he tees it up in Gleneagles in July. Only Bob Charles, Gary Player and Tom Watson have achieved the feat to this day.

The Dubliner, who turned 50 last year, has 32 professional victories to his name, including back-to-back Open Championships in 2007 and 2008, forming part of a stunning run of form which included the US PGA Championship in August 2008.

“I am excited to be making my debut at The Senior Open and to be able to do so in Scotland is very special. I always love playing there and it holds precious memories for me as the country of my first Major Championship win.

“It will be a pleasure to be back at Gleneagles. It is a great venue and I have fond memories of being there as a Vice Captain at the 2014 Ryder Cup.”

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Half-way leader Darren Clarke is three shots behind the leader, after carding a 70 on Saturday. In between is American Jerry Kelly, whose 68 today puts him a shot ahead of Clarke and two behind Dodd.

“I suppose I got lucky once or twice”

Dodd leads on 11 under par after a scintillating third round. He signed for nine birdies and just a single dropped shot.

Commenting on his round Dodd said:

“Well, after yesterday, I wasn’t really sure what was going to happen today because it was pretty poor yesterday. So good night’s sleep, I suppose I got lucky once or twice early on. They weren’t very good shots, but it went close, and I started to hit some good shots in the back nine.”

Dodd’s history equalling effort sees him join South African Harold Henning and American Jim Colbert as holders of the lowest Senior Open rounds. Both posted eight under par rounds of 62 at Turnberry Resort in 1990 and 2003 respectively. The 55-year-old also tied Sunningdale’s Old Course record which was set by Nick Faldo at the 1986 European Open and tied by Shane Lowry in 2010 Open Qualifying.

Former Senior Open winners in contention

One stroke behind Darren Clarke are a trio of past Senior Open winners in defending champion Bernhard Langer, 2016 winner Paul Broadhurst and 2018 champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez.

South Africa’s Ernie Els sits five shots off the lead in seventh place on six under par and still with a chance of picking up his first Senior Major Championship to add to his two Claret Jugs and two U.S. Open titles.

Round three select scores

199 S DODD (WAL) 66 71 62,
201 J KELLY (USA) 67 66 68,
202 D CLARKE 65 67 70,
203 M JIMÉNEZ (ESP) 69 67 67, P BROADHURST (ENG) 69 65 69, B LANGER (GER) 66 67 70,
204 E ELS (RSA) 67 67 70,
205 Y TSUKADA (JPN) 71 65 69,
206 W SHORT JR (USA) 67 70 69, R GONZALEZ (ARG) 66 71 69, J SANDELIN (SWE) 69 67 70,
207 T LEHMAN (USA) 68 71 68, D SHACKLADY (ENG) 69 68 70.
208 C MONTGOMERIE (SCO) 68 72 68, J REMESY (FRA) 68 69 71, I WOOSNAM (WAL) 68 68 72.
209 A CEJKA (GER) 71 71 67, R BEEM (USA) 71 70 68, P BAKER (ENG) 73 68 68, G DAY (USA) 75 65 69, M GOGEL (USA) 68 72 69, P WILSON (ENG) 68 71 70, J KINGSTON (RSA) 65 74 70, P PRICE (WAL) 67 72 70, M MARTIN (ESP) 70 67 72, T BJORN (DEN) 68 69 72,
210 P GOLDING (ENG) 71 70 69, B SOWARDS (USA) 71 69 70, T PERNICE JR (USA) 70 68 72, P FOWLER (AUS) 67 70 73.

215 A RAITT (ENG) 71 74 70, C WILLIAMS (RSA) 72 73 70, D GILFORD (ENG) 73 72 70, S MICHEEL (USA) 69 75 71, M MOULAND (WAL) 72 71 72, P MCGINLEY 69 73 73, T FOSTER (AM) (ENG) 72 70 73, P EALES (ENG) 69 70 76.

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The Dungannon golfer added a three under par round of 67 to his opening 65 to reach eight under par. He is one stroke ahead of defending champion Bernhard Langer and American Jerry Kelly on seven under par.

Good round 2 start

The 2011 Champion Golfer of the Year started well with birdies at the first and the third. Three bogeys in a row from the sixth threatened to derail his round. He quickly bounced back with five birdies and only a single dropped shot in his final ten holes.

“I got a couple of birdies on the first three holes and made some poor swings,” Clarke admitted. “Pleased that I finished on 8-under because the wind was swirling about a little bit,” he added.

“It would be huge to win,” conceded the Tyrone man. “But you know, we’re all long enough in the tooth to know this is only two rounds and a lot of golf to be played yet. I would love to have this trophy sitting beside the Claret Jug. Got to go work on some iron play, my iron play wasn’t there especially around the front nine today but other than that drove the ball well. Really in the mix come Sunday afternoon and would love to improve.”

Big names in chasing pack

Clarke’s playing partner Ernie Els shares fourth place with two-time Senior Major Champion Paul Broadhurst on six under par. The Englishman’s five under 65 the joint-low round of the day.

Four players share sixth place on four under par including 1991 Masters Champion Ian Woosnam, 2018 Senior Open winner Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Sweden’s Jarmo Sandelin and Japan’s Yoshinobu Tsukada.

The cut fell at five over par, with 79 players surviving to compete over the weekend in Berkshire.

Round two select scores

132 D CLARKE 65 67, 
133 J KELLY (USA) 67 66, B LANGER (GER) 66 67,
134 E ELS (RSA) 67 67, P BROADHURST (ENG) 69 65,
136 I WOOSNAM (WAL) 68 68, M JIM?NEZ (ESP) 69 67, J SANDELIN (SWE) 69 67, Y TSUKADA (JPN) 71 65,
137 P FOWLER (AUS) 67 70, J REMESY (FRA) 68 69, T BJ?RN (DEN) 68 69, D SHACKLADY (ENG) 69 68, R GONZALEZ (ARG) 66 71, S DODD (WAL) 66 71, M MARTIN (ESP) 70 67, W SHORT JR (USA) 67 70,
138 T PERNICE JR (USA) 70 68, W CHAPMAN (USA) 70 68,
139 P PRICE (WAL) 67 72, J KINGSTON (RSA) 65 74, P EALES (ENG) 69 70, P WILSON (ENG) 68 71, T LEHMAN (USA) 68 71, W AUSTIN (USA) 69 70, J COCERES (ARG) 67 72,
140 C MONTGOMERIE (SCO) 68 72, M MOLINA (ARG) 73 67, J CARRILES (ESP) 71 69, G ORR (SCO) 70 70, M GOGEL (USA) 68 72, K TANIGAWA (USA) 70 70, G DAY (USA) 75 65, B SOWARDS (USA) 71 69,
141 R CHAPMAN (ENG) 71 70, P BAKER (ENG) 73 68, D PRIDE (USA) 68 73, F QUINN (USA) 71 70, D COPSEY (ENG) 69 72, R BEEM (USA) 71 70, P GOLDING (ENG) 71 70,
142 M RIDLEY (ENG) 70 72, R ALLENBY (AUS) 67 75, T LEVET (FRA) 68 74, C WHITELAW (RSA) 73 69, S HENDERSON (SCO) 70 72, T FOSTER (AM) (ENG) 72 70, S KENDALL (USA) 73 69, P MCGINLEY 69 73, A CEJKA (GER) 71 71, J FURYK (USA) 70 72,

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The 2019 Champion Golfer of the Year got back into the swing of things instantly after his five-bogey first-round display left him over par.

The Clara native achieved four birdies on the front nine and suffered his only bogey on the course’s infamous fourth hole.

He complimented his front-nine 32 with a score of 33 on the back-nine, with two further birdies helping the defending champion to a four-under-par score heading into the final two rounds.

The gap between tournament leader, 2010 Champion Golfer of the Year Louis Oosthuizen and Lowry did expand but the Offaly man will be happy with his recovery on day two.

Lowry’s Team Ireland Olympic teammate Rory McIlroy shot even for the second day in a row to confirm his position in The Open for the weekend.

McIlroy made amends on holes 4-6 after a horrible stretch yesterday saw him shoot three bogeys in a row.

However, the golfer shot four bogeys once again, all on different holes to that of yesterday, and it ultimately kept his score higher than it could have been.

His four birdies countered the bogeys and helped the Northern Irish golfer ensure a stable round two performance kept him afloat.

The final hole was the only hole he birdied for the second time.

Pádriag Harrington also made the cut, joining Lowry and McIlroy among the ranks for rounds three and four.

The two-time Champion Golfer of the Year went two-under-par on Friday to secure his spot in this weekend’s action.

Harrington avoided the same mistakes he made at the beginning of round one to ensure there would be no double-bogey on his scorecard again.

However, two bogeys on the front nine – one at hole 9, where he birdied on Thursday- ensured a second consecutive 36 for the first half of the course.

Fortunately, the Dubliner more than made up for this with a strong performance on the back nine, particularly on the first six holes, to ensure he brought his score down below the cut.

Harrington had a lot more fortune on hole 15 on Friday but struggled once again on the closing hole, putting with his fifth shot for the second round running.

Darren Clarke was the only golfer from the island of Ireland to miss the cut, with the 2011 Champion Golfer of the Year seeing his return to the course he won at get cut short.

A poor front nine was compounded by a woeful start to the final nine holes as Clarke could only manage a triple bogey at 10 – a hole he made par at in round one.

A further bogey on 11 put the writing on the wall for the last man to win at Sandwich, who bowed out with a score of six-over-par.

Harrington, Lowry and McIlroy will progress to the final two rounds, which will be available to watch on Sky Sports The Open.

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The famous tournament has had five Irish winners in its lifespan (dating back to 1947) and there have been four Irish wins since the turn of the century.

Shane Lowry – 2019

Offaly’s Shane Lowry is the current defending champion, having won in 2019.

The Clara native had stiff competition in the first two rounds but a stellar third round put the Claret Jug beyond anyone else’s reach.

Lowry became the first Irish player to win The Open on Irish soil, achieving victory in Portrush, Antrim.

The Republic of Ireland golfer won his first major by six strokes and will defend his title this weekend.

Pádraig Harrington – 2007 & 2008

Pádraig Harrington is the only Irish golfer to win the tournament twice, doing so back-to-back in 2007 and 2008.

The Dubliner achieved his first win at Carnoustie in Scotland, shooting an impressive four-under-par on the final day to earn a play-off against Sergio Garcia, who led all weekend.

Harrington could have tied it up quicker had he not went into the Barry Burn twice on the 18th hole.

The Irishman became the first golfer from the Republic of Ireland to win The Open and the first Irish golfer since Fred Daly in 1947 after his one-shot play-off win.

Harrington repeated his feat the next year at the Royal Birkdale in Southport where everyone struggled throughout the weekend.

The golfer almost pulled out of the tournament because of a wrist injury and fought his way up the scoreboard throughout the weekend to become the second golfer to win the tournament back-to-back in three years, after Tiger Woods achieved the same feat in 2006.

His fantastic back nine on Sunday saw the two-time Champion Golfer of the Year separate himself from the rest of the pack.

Darren Clarke – 2011

Darren Clarke achieved his childhood dream by winning the 140th Open Championship three years later in 2011.

Clarke won at the venue where this year’s Open is being held, shooting five-under-par and leading since the second round.

At 42, the veteran came into the tournament as an outsider and left Sandwich as the champion.

It was a fairytale moment for the Northern Irish golfer whose best finish in a major previous to his win was third in the 2001 Open.

Rory McIlroy – 2014

In 2014, Rory McIlroy became Champion Golfer of the Year after shooting 17-under-par at the Royal Liverpool.

The current World number 11 achieved the first of two majors in the space of a month with a dominant weekend on Merseyside.

The Northern Irishman went bogey-free in the first round and achieved the same score of 66 in the second to take a commanding lead that he extended further on Saturday.

McIlroy bogeyed three times on the final day but his six-shot lead was too much for any chasers to close down.

The 149th Open Championship will take place from Thursday, July 15th – Sunday July 18th.

All Irish tee times are available here.

The post WATCH: Relive Irish Wins At The Open appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.

It is the first time that The Open has been held at the venue since the Antrim golfer’s win and the second time it will be the final men’s major of the season in recent history.

Speaking at a press conference for The Open on Wednesday, he feels that it is special to return to the place where he won.

“It’s great to come back to any golf course where you’ve played well on and won but to come back to an Open venue where you’ve played well on and won is even more special,” said Clarke.

The 52-year-old sees it as a privilege to be able to return to the Royal St. George as the last person to win the tournament there.

He won the Claret Jug in 2011 at his 20th attempt, having come close before when he came third in the 2001 Open.

The win was a childhood dream of Clarke’s, who sees the win as the best moment of his career.

He was an outsider in 2011 and praised the history of the course, which has seen shock wins in the Open throughout its existence as a tournament venue.

Clarke talked of his approach to the weekend 10 years ago, a weekend which he felt changed his mindset.

“I was ready to step across the line and win the biggest and best tournament in the world and the one I had always wanted to win.”

He noted that there are differences this week when compared to the Open Championship week in 2011.

The wind direction is different and the 18-hole course is a lot softer than it was during the last Open weekend at Sandwich.

Clarke said that these factors change the way the links course will be played this weekend.

“There won’t be so much chasing the greens, more flying them in there.”

The Open takes place from Thursday, July 15th to Sunday, July 18th with coverage of the tournament exclusively on Sky Sports The Open.

All Irish tee times for the first two rounds of the tournament are available here.

The post The Open: Darren Clarke Excited To Be Back At Sandwich appeared first on SportsNewsIreland.