Cormac Sharvin is feeling good about being the top home Irish Open contender in the clubhouse.
The 26-year-old Down man followed up another 66 in Lahinch yesterday with a solid 69 in his second round to reach the halfway mark on five-under par, three shots off the current lead.
A pro for the past four years, Sharvin has put himself in contention for one of the three Open Championship berths on offer this week - but has to finish in this tournament's top 10 to be eligible for one of them.
"It's great to be in contention in my home event, I'm so excited for the weekend now," said the Ardglass pro.
"I think for me, honestly, it's just try and treat it like any other event. It would have been easy for me to come down here on Sunday and play 18 holes, but I played holes and played the Pro-Am and hopefully that will work.
"I came here to try and compete, I feel like I belong there and hopefully I can show that.
"It’s a cliché, one shot at a time, that’s what I have been doing and that’s what I plan on doing the rest of the weekend. I'm going to chill and be the best that I can."
Sharvin is staying the other side of Doolin - "in the middle of nowhere" - and it has suited him to be far from the madding crowd.
He added: "There were a lot of squally showers coming in and out, it was very difficult, more so to get the club right, because with the gusty winds and squally showers, the ball wouldn't travel and then it would travel.
"So we just had a tough job of trying to get it pin high, but I managed to grind really well when I missed a few greens and when I hit it to 40 feet, I managed to two-putt, so that's the way things went today.
"I had a really good birdie on 16 after making a really good par save on 15 to get it under par for the day and then obviously 17 is playing quite difficult.
"But I hit two good shots on the last and the birdie putt will make my lunch taste a bit nicer".
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