A poor finish scuppered Eddie Pepperell’s opening round at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open yesterday.
Bad weather made scoring difficult at Royal County Down, Northern Ireland, and the Abingdon golfer looked well set on one-over par after 16 holes.
But Pepperell, who began his round at the tenth, dropped a shot on the penultimate hole, before a double bogey at the last.
The late stumble saw him tumble down the leaderboard after carding a threeover par round of 74, in a share of 67th position overnight.
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A solid round today should see him make the cut, though, and there is the added incentive of three places for July’s Open Championship for those who finish in the top ten.
While not an ideal start, Pepperell’s prospects of playing at the weekend are far better than some big names.
World No 1 Rory McIlroy, whose foundation are hosting the event, shot a nine-over par round of 80, while Martin Kaymer (79) also struggled.
The lead was held jointly by Padraig Harrington and Max Kieffer, who both carded four under par 67.
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