Purcell’s promotion bid on home soil gains momentum

Conor Purcell may have timed his bid to gain promotion to the DP World Tour perfectly ahead of the final round of the Black Desert NI Open, presented by Tom McKibbin.

Purcell took the lead at half-time, but despite being beaten by Joakim Lagergen in a stunning 61, he was still at least behind going into the final day. At 65, he was on 14 under par. The two will play a shootout on Sunday.

Frenchman Robin Scott Siegrist is the nearest challenger at nine under par.

After a slow start, which saw him bogey the third hole, Purcell found his stride with birdies on the fourth and ninth holes for a score of 33. He then followed up with a stellar 32-hole back nine, birdieing 12, 13 and 16, par from a bunker on 17 and birdieing 18 to keep his hopes of a first Challenge Tour victory alive.

“It was a good day, it’s always tough. I’ve only been in this position once, so if you have a lead today you can probably see inside your own head,” said Purcell.

“I did a great job before and during the round by staying in my own bubble. Joakim played a great round, but I did well myself too.”

“It was nice that my game was so good on Thursday and Friday, my strokes were really good and until today I hadn’t holed a putt more than three metres. I was struggling to read the greens.”

All the birdies kept Purcell in Lagergren’s wake, but if he can overtake the Swede on Sunday he will look back on what he described as “an outrageous four”.

“I got lucky on 17, I hit it left into the trees and had a full swing, I just had to hit it really low and move it 30 yards from right to left. I tried to keep it really low so I hit it over the trees to the 18th. I had to get a yard away and hit it halfway into a bunker and just rolled out of his plug mark, a lot of sand and held it for a four.

“When I gave the ball away I said to my caddie, ‘I’m going to hit a ridiculous four, so it was nice to back that up!’”

Purcell has been on the cusp of a maiden Challenge Tour victory for the past two seasons, with both opportunities coming on home soil.

The Portmarnock rider has cost a lot of money in the last two editions of the Irish Challenge, but he believes the lessons he has learned have helped him keep his emotions in check for the big day on Sunday. He is currently expected to climb to sixth in the Road to Mallorca standings and secure a top 20 DP World Tour card in November.

“I was lucky because it happened to me twice before in two Irish events when I was doing really well. I know it’s part of the game and you just have to deal with it. I was just excited to play the next shot, so it was fun.

“Playing the last two holes in one-under was overwhelming. I can now enjoy these days more instead of stressing out.”

Gary Hurley may be too far behind at four under par to challenge the leaders, but a top 10 finish would help him move up to 28th in the Road to Mallorca rankings.