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Three Irish Olympians are in the perfect position to whip up a desert storm at the $9 million HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi.
Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald shot an 8-under 64 as Seamus Power (66), Shane Lowry (67) and Padraig Harrington (68) gave themselves the chance to challenge for the €1.5 million first prize. Ideal platform.
Starting on No. 10, Ball had to bide his time before making his first par on the long 18th. Since then, he has made big shots in the first, second, fourth, fifth and eighth birdies.
“I’m a putter, so 15th, 16th, a few of those holes were a little bit tough for me visually. So once I got to the 18th tee, I thought I might have a chance,” Ball said. Say.
“It’s one of those courses where there are greens, you just have to be patient.
“You can hit a really good shot and you don’t end up that close to the hole, which happened to me a few times on the backside.”
“But I was able to get up front and actually had a couple of chances, really, to get going in the seventh and ninth. Overall, a lot of good stuff,” he added.
‘The surroundings are immaculate. If you can hit the ball in the right spot, you can reach any of the pins, that’s the sign of a good course, and that’s what I was able to do there.
The highlight of Lowry’s round came on his 11th, second round, when he flew his drive from 248 yards to 24 feet and made a putt.
‘Honestly, I am very happy. Obviously, I played in the Hero Cup last week and I didn’t play as well or get as many points as I wanted,” said the Offaly native.
“I learned a lot about myself and again a lot about the team environment.
“It’s important not to lose too much confidence and get the year off to a good start,” Lowry said.
“You come here, first round this year, with a scorecard in your pocket; you really don’t know how it’s going to go.
“It’s good to go out and hit some good golf, and it’s good to make some putts at the end.”
Playing in tougher afternoon conditions, Harrington played at four under par through seven holes before his gallop was stopped by a bogey on the eighth hole.
The Dubliner made another birdie on No. 10 before making a par return to the clubhouse.
The U.S. Senior Open champion may have felt he missed his chance on the par-5 18th hole when he missed the green by two shots and shot four from 7 feet.
The 51-year-old Harrington is seeking to become the oldest European Tour champion, if he wins, he will also become a Ryder Cup contender.
Ray Floyd was 51 years old and 20 days old when he entered the 1993 race.
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