Kevin Phelan

Stella89

A potentially great player? Only 24 years old. Great amateur career. Is he the Justin Rose of Irish golf..? (who needed a couple of seasons to adjust to pro tour)

Tied 10th after two rounds in Johburg open today

Golfgorfield

I've been lucky to play on a good few amateur teams with Kevin, in fact we were room mates for many events, so i got to know him very well, and he will for sure find his way to becoming a very good tour pro.

My assessment of him would be a Luke Donald type, incredibly accurate, calculated with a great short game. Remember he had a full card last year which he gained just 3mths after turning pro and will have learned a lot on tour last year.

A year on the Challenge tour this year, where he should win will do no harm and expect to see him back on tour full time quickly.

bigtimecharlie

-2 after 5, hopefully he can get a top 10 finish.

me89

-4 after 7 nice start

bigtimecharlie

There's a spot at the Open up for grabs, too much to ask?

bigtimecharlie

Another bird drops, -14 and tied for the lead.

Keep it together man.

PARlance

Leading by himself now.

22 players within 3 shots though

vienne86

This is fantastic by Kevin. Very bunched up behind him right now.

Golfgorfield

Will need -17 I reckon, -3 back 9 will be a big ask under this pressure but he's a very cool guy, I'd be surprised if he dosnt at least make a playoff

Fingers crossed

gman127

Other than the win, a place in The Open is looking good!

vienne86

He's on the back nine now. Over that last three days, he has done much better on the front nine than the back nine. Other players at the top of the leaderboard have a lot more holes to play. So I wouldn't be optimistic about a win, but an Open slot seems realistic and would be just great!

ABitofsense

Anyone know what he needs to get his card back? Hes playing great.

bigtimecharlie

His playing partner will carry him along, both -5 for the day.

PARlance

Have we seen any coverage of him?

Wanda & The Aliens was on

Edit: they just showed his missed birdie putt.

Zaph

gman127 wrote: »

Other than the win, a place in The Open is looking good!

He's one of the lowest ranked players at the business end of the leader board, so if he's in a tie with a couple of others he could lose out. It would be a terrible shame if that happened as he deserves something tangible from his performance this week.

bigtimecharlie

He's getting air time alright. Just missed his birdie attempt on 11.

aster99

A place in the Open would be a massive bonus!

PARlance

Birdie on 12

vienne86

Sky just showed him getting a birdie on 12. Back in the lead.

PARlance

Left himself a little bit of work for par on 13

Slicemeister

PARlance wrote: »

Left himself a little bit of work for par on 13

Nervy looking lag putt.

gman127

A par from that bunker should be given the win!

LuckyGent88

Think I'll go away from the coverage again. Just tuned in and seen that shocker of a shot.
Best of luck to him. Hopefully gets the W and sets up a double win on the golf tours this weekend!!!

PARlance

He'll be doing well to walk away with par there.

bigtimecharlie

Test of his mantle now.

vienne86

Bogey

Brendygg

savage approach into 15

vienne86

Back to -15.....well done, Kevin! Great putt on 16.

Zaph

If nothing else, a good finish here will get him into the Africa Open next weekend. Given that he's playing under category 17 and getting into a tournament is tough, any tournament he can get into through good performances like this is a bonus.

bigtimecharlie

Zaph wrote: »

If nothing else, a good finish here will get him into the Africa Open next weekend. Given that he's playing under category 17 and getting into a tournament is tough, any tournament he can get into through good performances like this is a bonus.

That's the best he can hope for now. A top 5 should see him get around 60k plus also.

PARlance

A birdie on 18 would give the rest of them something to get nervy about.

bigtimecharlie

PARlance wrote: »

A birdie on 18 would give the rest of them something to get nervy about.

Didn't happen. Still, great 4 day's.

slave1

Just one shot away, great week and not over yet as anything could happen, should be top 10 and into The Open

gman127

slave1 wrote: »

Just one shot away, great week and not over yet as anything could happen, should be top 10 and into The Open

Needs help to get into the open. Top 3 who finish in the top 10 not already qualified get the places. Ties are decided by world ranking.

As it stands that puts him 5th in the queue

PARlance

gman127 wrote: »

Needs help to get into the open. Top 3 who finish in the top 10 not already qualified get the places. Ties are decided by world ranking.

As it stands that puts him 5th in the queue

A meltdown by Howell and Wall and he's in. They won't both collapse though.

slave1

Ah sh1t, didn't notice the restriction to 3 players...but how can he be 5th if he's in 3rd place for the tournament?

PARlance

PARlance wrote: »

A meltdown by Howell and Wall and he's in. They won't both collapse though.

The two lads are doing their best to blow it.

gman127

slave1 wrote: »

Ah sh1t, didn't notice the restriction to 3 players...but how can he be 5th if he's in 3rd place for the tournament?

A three way tie for third, and he's the lowest ranked

5th in the list for the Open spaces, not the tournament

Zaph

slave1 wrote: »

Ah sh1t, didn't notice the restriction to 3 players...but how can he be 5th if he's in 3rd place for the tournament?

He's tied 3rd in the tournament and both the 2 players ahead of him and the 2 he's tied with are higher than him in the OWGR.

PARlance

Com'on Wall, bogey this good lad. Here's hoping for a flyer

gman127

He could still win in a playoff!

PARlance

gman127 wrote: »

He could still win in a playoff!

That's his only real hope now. Wall in at -15

gman127

PARlance wrote: »

That's his only real hope now. Wall in at -15

Pretty much. He's already guaranteed to be third in the queue with 2 lads finished. Here's to a playoff!!:D

Zaph

If things stay as they are Phelan will lose out on an Open spot, but he'll collect about €89k, which will go a long way towards securing a card for next year. I'd say he'd have gladly taken that at the start of the week.

stitcheddepin

go on phelan. hell be happy with the shared second cheque
a little hard done by not to qualify for the open

Zaph

Coetsee birdying the last just cost Phelan about 8 grand, but it's still the biggest cheque he's picked up so fair play to him. Hopefully he can keep that form going next week. There'll also be a decent few ranking points for him as well.

LinksLad

Could be another solid week. He's just 2 shots back of the early lead at the S.A. Open. Has a few holes to go yet.

ronjo

Finished with a 67 and is leader.

Another good week will go a long way to securing his card and I guess help with more invites for this season.

slave1

Just been awarded a €20k grant by Team Ireland Golf Trust, cha ching

FixdePitchmark

slave1 wrote: »

Just been awarded a €20k grant by Team Ireland Golf Trust, cha ching

The lad has earned 270,000 in two years.

Hard to justify that grant (imo)

PARlance

FixdePitchmark wrote: »

The lad has earned 270,000 in two years.

Hard to justify that grant (imo)

In fairness, the cheque for a nice chunk (a third) of that probably hasn't even cashed yet. Neither would have known these performances were around the corner either.
Take tax, paying a caddy, flying himself and a caddy around the place, accommodation etc out of his winnings and I doubt there's much change left at all.
Not to mention his parents putting him through college in the states. Albeit on a scholarship but an expensive few years none the less.

Delighted to see him get it tbh, if he has a successful career it will be paid back a hundred fold.