TWO IRISH PLAYERS are in the mix for a European Tour title at the Lyoness Open in Austria.
Ruaidhri McGee and Simon Thornton are both on -4 after impressive third round outings. Thornton rocketed up the leaderboard with a round of 67 that included six birdies and just one bogey blemish. McGee was level par for his round at the turn but dropped three birdies on the way back to the clubhouse.
McGee, a Donegal native, plays on the European Challenge Tour but qualified for this week’s event in Atzenbrugg. The 23-year-old appeared in the Madeira Islands Open earlier in the year while his best finish on the Challenge Tour was a tie for seventh at the Karntern Open.
The low rounds for McGee and Thornton have them tied for 10th going into the final day. The leader is The Netherlands’ Joost Luiten, who is well clear on -11. McGee will tee off his final round pursuit at 11:52am tomorrow with Thornton getting underway just after midday.
Meanwhile in the U.S of A, Padraig Harrington is on -2 and 10 shots off the clubhouse lead of Ben Crane at the St Jude Classic. Harrington shot a level par round today while Graeme McDowell is a shot better off after a fine round of 68.
