MEATH MAN DAMIEN McGrane led the Irish charge into the third day of action at the Czech Open on Saturday, lying just one shot off leader Mikael Lundberg (-8) and joint second overall.
Paul McGinley is also well place on -6 after consecutive rounds of 69 and 71 and two early birdies in his third round, while Peter Lawrie is in a tie for 11th after making his way to four-under-par.
Simon Thornton is another that could be set for a good weekend. He was among the early starters on Saturday morning and collected four birdies over the back nine to move right up the leaderboard, before two bogeys – on the par five first and the third – dented his momentum just a little.
Former Irish Open champion Shane Lowry is also at the Prosper Golf Resort but three dropped shots, including a double bogey on the second, have seen him fall back to a tie for 31st place.
Padraig Harrington, meanwhile, holed a putt from 15 feet on 17 at the Wyndham Championship on Friday to make the cut and give himself a real chance of being part of next week’s Barclays Championship – the first FedEx Cup play-off of the year.
A top 30 finish at Sedgefield will likely see the three-time Major winner achieve his goal as he’s currently 130 in the FedEx rankings. Tommy Gainey leads the event on -12 with Harrington in a tie for 61st on three-under-par.