Shane Lowry had a Ryder Cup flashback as he finished with a flourish to make the Horizon Irish Open weekend at Mount Juliet.
Lowry looked down and out standing on the 15th tee but thrilled his supporters by birdieing the last four holes to push himself past the cutline.
"I've holed putts at certain times in my career that have meant a lot so yeah, I go back to 18 at the Ryder Cup is a big one to me and that one there today," said the Clara man, recalling his dramatic Saturday four-ball victory with Tyrrell Hatton for Europe at Whistling Straits last year.
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Only four Irishmen made it through to the last two rounds - Seamus Power, Padraig Harrington and Lowry - and Power is the only one with a realistic chance of being the first home winner since Rory McIlroy triumphed in 2016.
The Waterford man fired his second 68 in succession to leave himself on eight under par and in joint fourth place at the halfway mark, three shots behind leader Jorge Campillo of Spain.
But it was Lowry who drew the biggest cheer as he punched the air with delight after making a 20-foot birdie on the last.
"I had somewhat resigned myself that I was probably going to miss the cut but I was out there trying to play as well as I could the last few holes," the 35-year-old said.
Lowry shot a 63 at Baltray seven years before McIlroy's K Club success to set up his famous Irish Open victory as an amateur but, at three under.
"Yeah, that mightn't be enough," he laughed, acknowledging the difficulty in making up so much ground.
"I'm a long way away. Look, we have decent weather forecast on Sunday, the golf course is probably playing too easy for me to make any sort of a run at this but I can definitely throw a top 10 or a decent finish at it, and that's what I'm kind of looking at.
"But first and foremost go back and relax and then go out there and hopefully shoot a decent score."
Lowry was beaming after coming off 18, having received a rousing reception.
"Even when my second shot landed on 18 and there was a big roar, it was only 20 feet away, it wasn't like it was close - but it was probably better that it was 20 feet (given the noise)," he joked.
"But listen, it was good fun. I was kind of playing second fiddle to Seamus, he was rolling putts in and the crowd were getting behind him.
"I felt a little flat for a long time, but as soon as I started making a few putts the crowd helped me along the way coming down the last few holes.
"Ah, that's why we love this tournament, that's why we love this country, moments like that."
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