Shane Lowry fought hard to get into the Sunday shake-up at Mount Juliet - but will need one of the rounds of his life to keep the home fires burning.
Lowry lifted the spirits of the home fans in the morning, shooting a 68 that could have been even better.
He climbed to seven under par for the Irish Open with his fourth birdie of the round on the 10th hole but the Clara man couldn't advance his position beyond that.
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Given how the afternoon panned out after a heavy rainstorm gave way to warm, sunny conditions, the reality is that he needed to go lower as a horde of the DP World Tour's regular gun-slingers kept holing birdie putts.
Making up 27 places on the field, Lowry is still seven shots adrift of impressive leader Adrian Meronk - who made four birdies and a bogey in his last five holes on his way to a 68.
"I still think I'm too far back on a golf course that scoreable to have a chance," acknowledged the 35-year-old, who is tied for 17th.
"But I played some nice golf and hopefully another round like that tomorrow and I will take a little bit of confidence going forward."
Among those ahead of him are Lucas Herbert, who won the tournament on the same course last year, and John Catlin - the winner two years ago in Galgorm.
"My coach is part-Irish, it's his first time here, so it would be extra special," said Catlin. "Winning it in 2020 was awesome, he loved that, so hopefully we can do it again."
Sadly, Seamus Power's challenge faded, given the numbers of Waterford people there to support their man.
Having started the day three behind the leaders, he endured a day he will want to forget in a hurry when the cherry on top of an impressive year was Irish Open homecoming and a pair of 68s had put him in contention.
Lowry, along with 10 of the top 11 players in the world, Tiger Woods and other stars of the game are heading to Adare to the JP McManus Pro-Am on Monday.
After that, he will start his Open Championship preparations in a relaxed way.
"I'll get out there on links turf, in a links wind and just sort out my ball flight and my chipping and get putting on slow greens," he said. "The greens won’t be too quick in St Andrews.
"If I shoot five under on Sunday, I’ll be pretty happy leaving here and I can definitely take thatwith me. This golf course isn’t the best preparation for The Open considering how soft it has played.
"But the next 12 days are just about trying to find confidence in your own game. And honestly I felt I pretty much hit the ball where I wanted today, bar a couple of shots, so if I can do that on Sunday I’ll be very happy.
"I’m just maintaining my game and I’ll practice the way I always practice, I'll round up a couple of my friends to go to Portmarnock - if they'll have me - or Baltray or somewhere and have a game of golf and enjoy myself as well."
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