Niall Kearney and with his father, Joe on the bag is set to celebrate a best Tour result heading to the final round of the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship.
The Royal Dublin pro capped his third round with an eagle ‘2’ at the 16th and then birdied the last in a 66 to be just outside the top-20 at 12-under par on the Fire Course at Jumeirah Estates.
England’s Andy Sullivan continues to lead the event adding a 68 for a two-shot lead at 21-under par and seeking a second success this season.
Kearney’s round in heatwave conditions was one shot better than Thursday’s second round 67 and with his 66 now the 32-year old’s lowest score in 15 main Tour events he’s played over the past decade.
And pulling the clubs and calling the shots is Kearney’s father, Joe was by his son’s side on Tour debut in January 2010 at the African Open.
The father and son combination of Niall Kearney and his caddying father, Joe.
“I’ve my dad over caddying which is great. We’re having a really good time together,” Kearney said.
“It seemed to get absolutely roasting out there so concentration was important over the last few holes… I only played the last eight holes in one-under. I gave myself a few chances and it would’ve been nice to pick up another couple of shots and overall I’m feeling good about tomorrow.
“My thought process is coming easy, feeling relaxed, so hopefully we can finish the week off well now.”
Kearney grabbed his eagle at the par-4 16th when he drove the green to land his tee shot just four-feet.
“The eagle on 16 was a nice bonus as the tee was pushed up so it turned into a drivable hole,” he said.
“I hit a great tee shot to about four feet and holed the putt. Overall, I just played really solid.”
Kearney’s highest main Tour finish was a T25th result at the 2015 British Masters.
Meantime – The Irish duo of Cormac Sharvin and Jonathan Caldwell ended their European Tour year missing the cut at the co-sanctioned South African Open.
The pair were well-placed at level par but slumped in the continuing windy conditions with Sharvin shooting a second round 78 and Caldwell a 79.
Up front, it is 45-year old Welshman Jamie Donaldson (63) and highest world-ranked Christiaan Bezuidenhout (70) leading by two shots at 10-under par.
