Round two of the Italian challenge open got underway on Friday and it was a disappointing day for the Irish in the field as all five golfers failed to make the three-under-par cutline.
With a battle for promotion and status ongoing, this result could prove to be costly as there are now only two events left on the Hotelplanner Tour before the Grand Final at the end of October.
Seeking to get inside the top 20 in the rankings to be granted DP World Tour status are Max Kennedy and Liam Nolan as both sit just outside in 32nd and 34th place respectively.
Dubliner Max Kennedy managed to put together a very impressive three-under round two but ultimately his damage was done after carding a four-over-par round on day one.
Kennedy was sharp on the front nine, making two quick birdies on the first and second.
A double-bogey came on the par-4 fourth which in hindsight proved to be very costly as the 23-year-old then went on a run of four birdies as he closed out his front nine.
A single birdie came on the back nine along with two bogeys to see Kennedy bow out of the tournament at one-over-par.
Liam Nolan struggled to find the form that he has come so accustomed to as the 25-year-old failed to get under-par. Nolan only managed two birdies along with three-bogeys, but it was the double on the par-5 18th that the Galway man would love to forget in a hurry.
Fighting to keep their Hotelplanner Tour status are Northern Irishmen Jonathan Caldwell and Dermot McElroy as both sit just outside the top 100 in the rankings.
Caldwell, who sits 138th in the rankings was the lowest of the Irish as the 41-year-old just missed out on the weekend as he posted and finished on two-under-par.
After an even-par first round, Caldwell did well to chip away and take what he could get but the putts weren’t dropping for the Down native. Two birdies on the front and two on the back was the most he could manage but the bogeys on the fourth and 12th holes could have been avoided.
Costly mistakes for Dermot McElroy in round one may be the reason he isn’t making it to the weekend as he made six birdies but still only finished one-under-par.
McElroy couldn’t score like he could in round one as the 32-year-old posted a two-over-par round two after a sore double on the par-5 14th to see him finish on one-over-par.
Dublin’s Robert Moran had an outside chance of securing status for next year, but the 26-year-old needed a result in round two, but that didn’t come.
Moran made two double bogeys like he did in round one on the front nine, before another came on the 12th. Moran made three birdies on the back nine but a triple bogey on the par-4 15th saw him post a seven-over round to finish on nine-over.
South Africa’s JC Ritchie takes the 36-hole lead as the 31-year-old posted a faultless nine-under-par round two to take him to 12-under and earn a one stroke lead heading into round three.
“That was close to perfect,” he said. “I hit the ball super well. We’ve got an absolute perfect day out here, there’s no wind to talk about, it’s 30 degrees and sunny.”
“I ripped it the first six holes and didn’t make anything. I made a crucial par putt on seven which got my day going, then made a couple of birdies around the turn. I made about a 90-foot putt up the hill on 13 and that really kick-started me making some putts,” added Ritchie.
The 31-year-old will earn automatic promotion to the DP World Tour should he secure a third victory of the season in Italy, a result that would also see him rise to the summit of the Rankings for the first time.
Ritchie is closely followed by Christofer Rahm, Albert Boneta, Rocco Repetto Taylor and Will Enefer who all are tied for second place at 11-under.
Leaderboard
