Padraig Harrington started the day in joint-second and ended up missing the cut following a cataclysmic second round at the Irish Open on Friday. Overnight leader Ryan Fox, Matthieu Pavon and Erik van Rooyen share the halfway lead. New Zealand's Fox, son of All Blacks World Cup-winning flyhalf Grant, sank three birdies on the back nine to card a three-under-par 69 and take the clubhouse lead at eight under He was joined by Frenchman Pavon after a second consecutive 68 while South African Van Rooyen left it late, finishing with back-to-back birdies in a course-record 65 to make it a three-way tie atop the leaderboard. Sweden's Joakim Lagergren carded a 68 to finish one shot behind the trio at Ballyliffin Golf Club and one ahead of a group of players including Britain's former US Masters champion Danny Willett. It was a day to forget for Harrington though. The Dubliner had been quoted by some bookies as being as long as 66/1 to triumph in Donegal this weekend, a price that Harrington himself said was "good value". But following a strong start on Thursday which left him on four-under-par, a shot behind New Zealand's Ryan Fox, he crumbled. Wayward driving plagued the 46-year-old's game all day and a rollercoaster back nine me managed two double bogeys - one on the 18th which sealed his fate - two birdies and a bogey. Added to the three bogeys he notched on the front nine, it meant Harrington signed off with a six-over 78 to end his tournament on two-over. Rory McIlroy was left to rue dropped shots at the end of his second round but took solace in at least making the cut. The Northern Irishman won at the K Club in 2016 but didn't qualify for the weekend in the other four of the last five years. The former World No 1 shot a one-over-par 73. "It's a change," he told RTÉ Sport. "It's a success in terms of the last few years so it's nice to play the weekend. "I didn't play quite as well as yesterday but I still had chances to make birdies. "(I got) three. I bogeyed three of the last five, which isn't great. "I played okay. I had a couple of loose tee-shots coming in and they cost me a couple of bogeys late on but the game felt ok." . @ShaneLowrygolf feels he played well in his #IrishOpen second round and was happy to avoid another "smelly finish". pic.twitter.com/1X54chhxB8 — RTEgolf (@RTEgolf) July 6, 2018 Former Irish Open winner Shane Lowry fared better, shooting four birdies and two bogeys in a 70 that moved him to two under overall. Paul Dunne squeaked in just under the cut mark with a 72 but Gavin Moynihan suffered the opposite fate after a second successive one-over 73. Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley (+3) and Darren Clarke (+4) both also miss out. Lagergren added a 68 to his opening-day 69 to move into the outright lead. Danny Willett is one shot behind him after a 70 - the Englishman reached a career-high of ninth in the world after claiming his first major title at Augusta National in 2016, but has slumped to 442nd in the rankings after suffering numerous injuries and a loss of form. He is joined by South African Zander Lombard. Lee Westwood, who will be one of Thomas Bjorn's vice-captains in Paris in September, was a shot further back following a 71. Four-time major winner McIlroy isn't giving up hope of a title tilt just yet but admits he needs a good round tomorrow to have any chance of contention. "It's getting firm and fast out there. "One of the guys that shot four or five under yesterday might shoot another good one today and get to eight or nine but I can't really worry about that. "I've just to worry about myself, go out tomorrow and try to shoot a good one and get myself in the tournament." FULL IRISH OPEN LEADERBOARD McIlroy has had little success with the putter so far this week, and a shot that lipped out on the 18th (his ninth) seemed to encapsulate his struggles. "It sort of sums up the last couple of days," he said. "Even the good ones aren't going in. "I didn't hole anything again on the greens but hopefully I can turn that around over the weekend." Follow the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open with our live blog on RTÉ Sport Online and the RTÉ News Now App and watch live on RTÉ2<doc-sep>The Telegraph Two of the surprise packages of this clay-court season have been British – initially Dan Evans, who made a deep run in Monte Carlo, and more lately Cameron Norrie, who played his second final in three weeks on Sunday. Unfortunately, Norrie wasn’t able to land a maiden ATP title in Lyon. But then he was up against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been the dominant force of 2021 outside the slams, and now stands at No 1 in the table of most rankings points gained since January 1. Nevertheless, it had been a hugely creditable effort for Norrie to go this far, especially when you consider that he took out top seed Dominic Thiem on Thursday, and then trounced big-hitting Russian Karen Khachanov in Saturday’s semi-final, losing only two games in the process. Norrie has come to clay late in his career, but it feels like this is developing into his favourite surface. He has one of the heaviest left-handed forehands in the game, loaded with top-spin, and uses it like a miniature version of Rafael Nadal. The result has been a tally of 14 wins and only four losses since he began his European clay-court swing in Barcelona. So while the French Open, which starts next Sunday, has traditionally been a graveyard of British hopes, there are reasons to hope that this year’s event could deliver some more positive results. Norrie’s previous final in Estoril had been a nervewracking affair which he eventually lost on a deciding-set tie-break to the more experienced Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Sunday was more straightforward for Tsitsipas, who needed only 69 minutes to hammer home a 6-3, 6-3 victory. It was Tsitsipas’ second title of the clay-court sequence, after he won Monte Carlo in mid-April, taking out Evans in the semi-final along the way. He has become a serious contender to upset the establishment – specifically Nadal and Novak Djokovic – at Roland Garros over the next few weeks. “I felt in good shape from the beginning of the tournament,” said Tsitsipas afterwards. “I am proud of today’s match, I knew it would be a difficult one against Cameron, who has been showing great tennis this week. He has been winning against good players and showing what the left hand can do on clay. “It was not an easy match today. I had to handle the nerves and I am proud of my performance and the way I stayed focused towards my goal.” On this year’s results, meanwhile, both Evans and Norrie stand among the world’s 20 most successful men. Evans is at No 16 and Norrie No 14. The next challenge for them both is to convert that ATP Tour form into a deep run at a major.<doc-sep>
Russell Knox shot a 66 in Round 4 at the 2018 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at Ballyliffin on Sunday, and came from six down to win in a playoff over Australian Ryan Fox. And that wasn't even the most astonishing part. Knox holed a 40-foot putt for birdie on the par-4 18th to touch off a tasty 66, which was one off the round of the day. That got him to 14 under overall for the tournament, which at the time wasn't assured to be enough for a playoff. Fox missed a much shorter birdie putt at the final hole. "I was able to hit a good shot and get on the green, which I was thrilled with," Knox said of the putt. "Then I just blacked out, to be honest. I stood over the putt. I read the putt and I was like, 'Just don't aim. Like, just react.' I mean, I pured the putt. I remember thinking as soon as I hit it, I was like, 'Oh, I've hit it a bit firm,' and it just started tracking and it dropped, unbelievable. "That's why you play golf, to hole a putt like that on the last hole. The adrenaline just comes out and, I mean, it's the best feeling in the world, to be honest." That putt got Knox through the back door into the playoff where he holed a putt from basically the exact same spot for another birdie and his first victory non-WGC victory on the European Tour. "I mean, obviously, to make a putt like that, it's a dream come true, on the last hole to win," said Knox. "Fortunately I've done it before, so I knew I could do it. But to make a putt of that length, twice, a little lucky, but obviously very happy with it." I kept telling myself, 'I mean, why not?' he added. "These things happen. People hole putts to win tournaments. I've done it before in the U.S. on the last hole, 12 feet. This one was just a little longer. Made it nicer." The Scot will go to the Scottish Open next week with one of the biggest trophies of the season in his hands and two of the best putts you'll ever see added to the highlight reel.