Niall Kearney leads by two in BMW International Open

Niall Kearney was 11-under through 36 holes and comfortably ahead of Viktor Hovland and Bernd Wiesberger at the Golfclub München Eichenried in Munich

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26 June 2021: Niall Kearney is eager to grasp the opportunity to secure his first European Tour title after opening up a two shot lead going into the weekend at the 2021 BMW International Open. Gaganjeet Bhullar had a forgettable week, adding a 79 to his first round 77 to miss the cut.

The Irishman fired rounds of 65 and 68 at Golfclub München Eichenried to get to 11 under par and lead a chasing pack that includes two Ryder Cup hopefuls in World Number 14 Viktor Hovland and eight-time European Tour winner Bernd Wiesberger, who played alongside European Ryder Cup Captain Pádraig Harrington over the first two rounds.

Kearney recorded his first top ten at the Canary Islands Championship last month, and after a trio of missed cuts, the 33 year old is back on form as he makes his BMW International Open debut.

Spaniard Jorge Campillo, Frenchman Adrien Saddier and Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura are also amongst the group of players two shots off the lead at nine under par, with South African Shaun Norris and another Spanish native in Pablo Larrazábal one shot further back.

Local hero Martin Kaymer, his fellow Major winner Louis Oosthuizen, and German amateur Matthias Schmid are amongst a group of nine players at seven under par.

Player quotes

Niall Kearney: “I just feel really fresh. I’ve been home the last couple of weeks. Plenty of time to rest, I was travelling quite a bit prior to that, playing. It was great to get home, recharge and get back out. The course is fantastic, it suits my eye – old fashioned avenues and it’s quite tight off the tee. I’ve really enjoyed it.

“It’s a great opportunity. This year has been great for me. I’m getting lots of starts in nice tournaments. I’ve got to try and take the opportunities as well. I got off to a decent start in Spain in the Canaries, I just need to march on from there.”

Viktor Hovland: “It’s still a little wet out there but the course is holding up great. Even playing in the afternoon the greens are still really great, you can make a lot of putts, which I did today. I made some great putts out there.

“The biggest difference today was that I was able to not hit it in the water. I made some bogeys here and there, but at least they came from poor shots, a poor chip and a putt instead of hitting one in the water and taking a penalty shot. Just play pretty solid, hit a bunch of greens and hopefully I can keep putting well.”