Having shared the overnight lead, a fantastic second round 65 has seen Simon Walker put himself two clear of the chasing pack at the Irish Intervarsity Championship in Bundoran.
Walker followed his opening round 68 with the performance of the day on the County Donegal links, an opening bogey the only mark against the Maynooth University student in an almost faultless display.
The Roscommon golfer began his morning in steady fashion and was level par for his opening nine holes before making five birdies on the turn for home, including two in a row on 17 and 18 to sign for an impressive -5 round and a -7 total for the tournament.
Fellow Maynooth students Thomas Abom and Aodhagan Brady will be Walker’s closest challengers when the final round tees up tomorrow morning.
Abom continued his form as a -4 round of 66 moved the Irish Amateur Close Champion into a share of second place alongside Brady who went one better than his opening round when signing for a -3 round 67, both players right on Walker’s tail at -5 for the championship.
With 18 holes remaining to decide a champion Cormac O’Muirithe (University of Galway), Liam Abom (Maynooth), Robbie Walsh (UCC) and David O’Malley (Maynooth) will also count themselves among the contenders as all four remain under par for the tournament.
Maynooth University not only command the top spots in the individual championship but also in the team event as the trio of Walker, Liam Abom and James Walsh share the -10 overall lead with Brady, Jordan Boles and younger Abom brother, Thomas.
The top 46 contenders have made the cut for Friday’s action with proceedings set to get underway at 8.30am while the leading group do battle from 11.05am
Follow all the action here.