Paul McBride and Marc Boucher are best of the Irish on three-under-par after a round of 69 at the Gosser Open in Austria.
It leaves the Dublin pair in a share of 17th place and three shots behind co-leaders Paul Margolis and Andrea Romano.
Carton House’s Boucher found himself four-under through seven holes but was unable to keep that scoring pace going.
Robert Moran is a shot further back on two-under.
France’s Margolis and Italy’s Romano are co-leading at 6 under-par. There is a 7-way tie for 3rd place at 5 under-par.
Players had to face some tough weather conditions today as they battled under consistent rain showers, low clouds, and a temperature around 13° Celsius.
The Gösser Open is the oldest and one of the most important tournaments on the Alps Tour schedule. This year we are celebrating the 32nd edition of the tournament.
Margolis, 24, who has won on the Alps Tour as an amateur in 2021, carded a bogey free 66.
He turned professional at the end of 2021 and has earned various top-10 finishes since. Margolis began his day on the hole 10 where he went on to make a birdie, he then made another birdie on the 12th, 13th and 16th hole before making the turn and adding another birdie on the 1st and 7th hole to conclude the round.
“I played really good golf today. I was really good off the tee, I think I hit every fairway so that made it a lot easier. My putting was also very good. The greens are in perfect condition.
“I was expecting harder weather conditions than what we had. The course is holding it nice. When I woke this morning and saw the rain, I was expecting we were only going to play 9 holes, but it was actually fine.
“I’m going to rest now, hit a few putts and some shots, but most importantly, rest. I know it’s going to be a long day tomorrow; they are forecasting some heavy rain tonight, so we might have a delay tomorrow, but we will see. I think rest will be crucial to find myself in position on Saturday.”