Angel Ayora one clear of the field at the Italian Open; Conor Purcell misses the cut
Angel Ayora shot a bogey-free round of 65 to put himself atop of the leaderboard after day two of the Italian Open, with Ireland's Conor Purcell missing the cut.
Englishman Dan Bradbury held the clubhouse lead heading into the second day, but he sits a shot behind in a tie for second despite going two under par for the day.
Ayora was two shots behind the leader coming into the second day in Monte Argentario and after the 20-year-old started with eight straight pars, he holed four successive birdies from the ninth to reach nine under.
Bradbury's day got off to the worst possible start as he double bogeyed the first, but he recovered with five birdies, along with another dropped shot, to remain in contention on Saturday.
A triple-bogey eight on 12 would ultimately prove costly for Dubliner Purcell at the Argentario Golf Club. His round of 74 left him at four over, two shots beyond the cut mark.
Sitting in second alongside Bradbury at eight under were the trio of Martin Couvra, Andreas Halvorsen and Marcel Schneider.
Frenchman Couvra fired the lowest round of the day, hitting eight birdies and a bogey in his 63 to sit in the chasing pack behind Ayora.
Adrien Saddier is sitting alone in sixth after he produced his lowest round of season so far with a six-under 64 to catapult his way into contention for a maiden DP World Tour win.
Spanish pair Ivan Cantero and Eugenio Lopez-Chacarra, and Italian Francesco Laporta are all tied in seventh on six under par
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Irish Independent
43 minutes ago
- Irish Independent
Ireland's Jack Raftery and Sharlene Mawdsley take centre stage at European Athletics Team Championships
Raftery became just the second Irishman in history to break 45 seconds for 400m when clocking 44.98 to finish fourth in the men's race, while Mawdsley made a hugely impressive return to racing – the Tipperary sprinter clocking a season's best of 50.93 to finish third in the women's race. Their performances helped Ireland climb to fifth at the halfway stage, their tally of 192 points putting them within touching distance of the top three in division two: Norway (228), Belgium (226.5) and Slovenia (214.5). The top three nations will gain promotion to the first division on Sunday evening, with the bottom three relegated. The Irish didn't have any winners on day one and while Raftery might not have accrued the most points, his run was the standout individual showing, as the 24-year-old Dubliner hacked a massive chunk off his previous best of 45.75 to move second on the Irish all-time list behind David Gillick's national record of 44.77. 'I can't believe that,' he said. 'I don't have the words. I was coming in thinking if I ran 45.5, I'd be delighted.' Raftery has been working under coaches Gerard O'Donnell and Aideen Sinnott at the Dublin Sprint Club and having gone to the Paris Olympics as a substitue for the mixed relay, he's now in a great position to make the Tokyo World Championships as an individual as his time is just shy of the automatic standard of 44.85. Mawdsley, running her first race since the Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia in late May, turned in an excellent showing to dip under 51 seconds for the first time this year, not far off the PB of 50.71 she ran at the Paris Olympics. The race was won by Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova in 50.76. 'I don't even know how I made it around,' said Mawdsley, who was running her first race since the death of her father Thomas (Tucker) in early June. 'A season's best is great. It's a shame I didn't come first, I would have loved the top points.' Mawdsley said she is uncertain of her plans for the coming weeks, adding: 'Today was just about getting out there and doing my family proud.' The action closed with a huge performance by the Irish in the men's 4x100m where Michael Farrelly, Sean Aigboboh, Marcus Lawler and Israel Olatunde broke the national record for the second time in eight days, clocking 38.88 to win their heat and finish second overall. 'It's a great run,' said Lawler. 'There's a lot of effort gone into this over the years. We're all delighted.' Bori Akinola had to withdraw from that race after sustaining an injury in the 100m, where he finished fourth in his heat, and eighth overall, clocking 10.62 into a 2.2m/s headwind. The Irish 4x100m women's team of Sarah Leahy, Ciara Neville, Lauren Roy and Sarah Lavin clocked 43.97 to win their heat and finish third overall. Brian Fay secured a runner-up finish in the men's 5000m, the Dubliner showing his vast range of gears on the last lap of a tactical race, clocking 13:56.07 to finish a close second to Belgium's Isaac Kimeli (13:55.70). Shane Bracken had an impressive run in the men's 1500m, the Mayo man finishing a close third in 3:42.92. Sophie O'Sullivan turned in an off-colour performance in the women's 800m, the recently crowned NCAA 1500m champion coming home eighth in her heat in 2:12.87. Paris Olympian Eric Favors threw 19.42m to finish fifth in the men's shot put, while David Cussen cleared 2.16m to finish fifth in the high jump. Reigning European U-20 champion Elizabeth Ndudi jumped 6.26m to finish fourth in the long jump, Ava O'Connor finished fourth in the women's 3000m steeplechase in 9:45.09, while Niamh Fogarty threw 52.20m to finish fifth in the discus. Fintan Dewhirst had to battle injury in his heat of the 400m hurdles, trailing home eighth and last in 79.01 seconds but making sure he reached the line to earn some valuable points. Elsewhere, rising star Conor Kelly broke his own Irish U-20 400m record when clocking 46.06 at the Junioren Gala in Mannheim, Germany, improving the 46.18 record he set in Brussels last month.
Irish Examiner
44 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Jack Raftery and Sharlene Mawdsley impress for Ireland at European Team Championships
Two superb 400m runs by Jack Raftery and Sharlene Mawdsley, along with a 4x100m national record by the men's relay team, put Ireland firmly in the hunt for promotion after the first day of the European Athletics Team Championships in Maribor, Slovenia on Saturday. Raftery became just the second Irishman in history to break 45 seconds for 400m when clocking 44.98 to finish fourth in the men's race, while Mawdsley made a hugely impressive return to racing – the Tipperary sprinter clocking a season's best of 50.93 to finish third in the women's race. Their performances helped Ireland climb to fifth at the halfway stage, their tally of 192 points putting them within touching distance of the top three in division two: Norway (228), Belgium (226.5) and Slovenia (214.5). The top three nations will gain promotion to the first division on Sunday evening, with the bottom three relegated. The Irish didn't have any winners on day one and while Raftery might not have accrued the most points, his run was the standout individual showing – the 24-year-old Dubliner hacking a massive chunk off his previous best of 45.75 to move second on the Irish all-time list behind David Gillick's national record of 44.77. 'I can't believe that,' he said. 'I don't have the words. I was coming in thinking if I ran 45.5, I'd be delighted.' Raftery has been working under coaches Gerard O'Donnell and Aideen Sinnott at the Dublin Sprint Club and having gone to the Paris Olympics as a sub for the mixed relay, he's now in a great position to make the Tokyo World Championships as an individual, his time just shy of the automatic standard of 44.85. Mawdsley, running her first race since the Grand Slam Track event in Philadelphia in late May, turned in an excellent showing to dip under 51 seconds for the first time this year, not far off the PB of 50.71 she ran at the Paris Olympics. The race was won by Slovakia's Emma Zapletalova in 50.76. 'I don't even know how I made it around,' said Mawdsley, who was running her first race since the death of her father Thomas (Tucker) in early June. 'A season's best is great. It's a shame I didn't come first, I would have loved the top points.' Mawdsley said she is uncertain of her plans for the coming weeks, adding: 'Today was just about getting out there and doing my family proud.' The action closed with a huge performance by the Irish in the men's 4x100m where Michael Farrelly, Sean Aigboboh, Marcus Lawler and Israel Olatunde broke the national record for the second time in eight days, clocking 38.88 to win their heat and finish second overall. 'It's a great run,' said Lawler. 'There's a lot of effort gone into this over the years. We're all delighted.' Bori Akinola had to withdraw from that race after sustaining an injury in the 100m, where he finished fourth in his heat, and eighth overall, clocking 10.62 into a 2.2m/s headwind. The Irish 4x100m women's team of Sarah Leahy, Ciara Neville, Lauren Roy and Sarah Lavin clocked 43.97 to win their heat and finish third overall. Brian Fay secured a runner-up finish in the men's 5000m, the Dubliner showing his vast range of gears on the last lap of a tactical race, clocking 13:56.07 to finish a close second to Belgium's Isaac Kimeli (13:55.70). Shane Bracken had an impressive run in the men's 1500m, the Mayo man finishing a close third in 3:42.92. Sophie O'Sullivan turned in an off-colour performance in the women's 800m, the recently crowned NCAA 1500m champion coming home eighth in her heat in 2:12.87. Paris Olympian Eric Favors threw 19.42m to finish fifth in the men's shot put, while David Cussen cleared 2.16m to finish fifth in the high jump. Reigning European U-20 champion Elizabeth Ndudi jumped 6.26m to finish fourth in the long jump, Ava O'Connor finished fourth in the women's 3000m steeplechase in 9:45.09, while Niamh Fogarty threw 52.20m to finish fifth in the discus. Fintan Dewhirst had to battle injury in his heat of the 400m hurdles, trailing home eighth and last in 79.01 seconds but making sure he reached the line to earn some valuable points. Elsewhere, rising star Conor Kelly broke his own Irish U-20 400m record when clocking 46.06 at the Junioren Gala in Mannheim, Germany, improving the 46.18 record he set in Brussels last month.
Sunday World
3 hours ago
- Sunday World
Katie Price's boyfriend ‘unfollows' Conor McGregor after Ibiza night out
JJ Slater has reportedly hit the unfollow button after pictures of the pair appeared at a raucous day party on the holiday island Katie Price's boyfriend JJ Slater has 'unfollowed' Conor McGregor on Instagram after the Dubliner was pictured dancing with the glamour model in Ibiza. Slater has reportedly hit the unfollow button after pictures of the pair appeared at a raucous day party on the holiday island. In one photo that appeared on the social media site, a grinning McGregor and pouting Price are seen dancing close together while posing for the camera. The 47-year-old former glamour model was decked out in a tiny bikini alongside a shirtless McGregor as they enjoyed a wild time partying at the famous Ocean Beach Club. Katie and McGregor in Ibiza News in 90 Seconds - June 28th Conor later shared a snap with Katie from the event on Instagram, captioning it: 'Katie Price Forever.' JJ, who found fame on Married At First Sight UK, has been dating Katie since earlier this year. He had been following Conor on Instagram after Katie introduced them at his pub in Ireland, but 'didn't like seeing the pictures of them having a whale of a time on the party island,' a source told The Sun. "He thought it looked disrespectful.' Katie has been hanging out with other famous pals including Wayne Lineker, Dean Gaffney and Jamie O'Hara, since arriving in Ibiza. She has also been pictured several times with McGregor on his boozy holiday in Ibiza where he was spotted with Ireland international footballers Evan Ferguson and Troy Parrott. McGregor had flown his Black Forge FC football team to the Mediterranean hotspot to 'celebrate' their league success. The team won the UCFL Premier Division, with McGregor forking out for a VIP holiday to celebrate. 'To celebrate winning the league I took the @blackforgeinn football squad away on holiday to Ibiza! All-expense paid, VIP's,' he bragged on Instagram, sharing a series of snaps from the trip. 'Reach out, link up, join a team! Get active!' he said, adding: 'For the sake of your mental health, you will thank yourself! Joining him in the sun-kissed Balearics was Kinahan cartel figure Graham 'The Wig' Whelan, who is dating the fighter's sister Aoife. McGregor and 'The Wig' were pictured together at the UFC star's sister Erin's wedding to Terry Kavanagh in Co Tipperary last August. The ex-UFC champion also posted a picture of him in the famous Pacha nightclub along with Dubliners Lee Byrne and Nathan 'Biggie' Little. Lee, is the son of gangster Liam Byrne, and is currently in a relationship with Steven Gerrard's daughter Lilly-Ella. Lee's childhood friend Nathan 'Biggie' Little.- described by gardai in court documents as a gangland foot soldier - can also be seen in the image. Troy Parrott, who like Lee Byrne and Evan Ferguson, Lilly-Ella and Steven Gerrard, have no involvement in crime, were also snapped in the same group photo in Pacha with McGregor. The 35-year-old Dubliner returned to Pacha following his much-publicised double punching of a clubber in the same spot in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Footage obtained by the Sun appears to show the Dubliner hitting a person twice during the incident in the early hours of the morning The 36-year-old is seen in conversation with a man before putting his arm around his shoulders and then hitting him with his left hand while holding a glass of alcohol in his right. The former UFC featherweight and lightweight champion then takes another shot as the man stumbles to leave the reveller on the floor. According to reports, McGregor carried on partying at the venue while the man who had been punched was thrown out. Wayne Lineker, brother of soccer legend Gary and owner of the Lineker's pub chain, later claimed the assaulted man was his close friend and employee Joe Gomez and took the punches 'like a champ'.
