Amateur Close Championship:Jonathan Caldwell had a birthday to remember when he finished joint leader with a two-under-par round of 70 in the Golfsure Irish Amateur Open at Cork yesterday.
The Clandeboye man continued the hot form that brought him a course record-equalling 67 on the opening day, producing five birdies to join Banbridge's Richard Kilpatrick at the top on 137.
And on the day of his 23rd birthday, Caldwell was inches away from having a hole-in-one after his tee-shot on the 196-yard ninth hole lipped out.
Off the back of a birdie-birdie-par-birdie run, the Walker Cup panellist struck a sweet five-iron to the long par three green and his ball finished just inches beyond the hole, right in line from his tee-shot.
"It would have been the perfect birthday present", said Caldwell, who is in college in South Alabama University in America, "but it was so close it must have just lipped out."
Cruising towards the top end of the qualifying round, Caldwell began to take a few risks and it was just one of those days where nothing was to go wrong.
On the 10th he drove into some heavy stuff, only to chip out and produce a marvellous up and down from around 120 yards.
Then, on the short par five 11th, his second shot sailed past the green and ended up just inches from hazard territory, before he dinked a chip from heavy grass to 10 feet and holed for a birdie.
Caldwell must have thought the sun was shining just for him, and on the short dog-leg par four 12th he tried his luck with a drive for the green.
His ball was found buried in the long grass among the trees and he escaped with a bogey.
"The course suits me here," he said, "the tee-shots are especially good for me, if you hit a good drive you're rewarded and I like it like that."
Kilpatrick, the recently-crowned East of Ireland champion, will finish as the leading qualifier, however, after he joined Caldwell on the course record list with a second round 67.
Kilpatrick was also on song at a sun-drenched Little Island and he made a bee-line for the top of the leaderboard on the home stretch, shooting four birdies in the last six holes.
"It's great to finish at the top," said the 25-year-old, "I didn't want to meet any big players in the early matchplay rounds so I'm glad to be up there."
Sutton's Derek Downie finished in second place with rounds of 70 and 69 giving him an overall 139, while Cian Curley of Newlands finished third on 140 (68 and 72).
