Soren Kjeldsen takes two-shot lead in Irish Open

Phil Casey 07:13 31/05/2015
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  • Leading the pack: Soren Kjeldsen.

    Denmark’s Soren Kjeldsen moved into pole position to claim his first European Tour title for six years, despite a poor finish to his third round in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

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    Kjeldsen enjoyed a four-shot lead after playing his first 13 holes in six under par at Royal County Down, but bogeyed the 17th and 18th to finish two ahead of Spain’s Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Germany’s Max Kieffer.

    Kieffer carded seven birdies and one bogey to set a new course record of 65, despite cold and blustery winds which meant only 11 players were under par at the end of the day.

    “If you had given me 67 stood on the first tee I would have been very happy,” said Kjeldsen, whose last win came in the Open de Andalucia in 2009.

    “I played terrific all day and didn’t think I did too much wrong on the last two holes, so I will focus on the first 16.

    “Competition is pretty hard out here. It’s not easy to win and it’s not like I have played poorly for six years, but it’s nice to have a chance and it would mean everything to win this event.

    "But it’s too early to think about that. There are a lot of great players behind me and I need to play well to have a chance.”

    Kieffer made the most of some local knowledge to move into contention for his first European Tour title, his friend Stephen Sweeney having been an assistant professional at Royal County Down for four years.

    “He showed us around in the practice round and this is definitely a course where local knowledge helps a lot,” said the 24-year-old.

    England’s Tyrrell Hatton, Scotland’s Richie Ramsay and Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger were all three shots off the lead after matching rounds of 70, with former world No 1 Luke Donald six off the pace after a costly double-bogey on the 15th in his 72.

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