Ángel Hidalgo Iguala Record of Birdies at the Irish Open
STRAFFAN, Ireland – Ángel Hidalgo shone with a historic performance in the third round of the Irish Open, tying the European Tour record by recording 12 birdies. His impressive round of 63 strokes, nine under par, catapulted him to second place in the standings. Meanwhile, Adrien Saddier of France took the lead of the tournament with a score of 68 strokes. Rory McIlroy, one of the favorites, also stayed in contention with a flawless round of 68 strokes, without bogeys. The world number two is four strokes behind Saddier, who has a total of 201 strokes, 15 under par, at The K Club. McIlroy shares fourth position with Joakim Lagergren, who, after an irregular round of 73 strokes, lost the lead he had achieved in the previous day. The Swede had four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey. Alfredo Garcia-Heredia is in third place, three strokes behind the leader, after completing a round of 67 strokes that included two eagles. Hidalgo’s performance was exceptional, highlighting seven consecutive birdies that left him just one stroke behind Saddier. The Spaniard became the ninth player in European Tour history to achieve a dozen birdies in a single round.The only other player to have reached 12 birdies at The K Club was Darren Clarke, who set a course record with 60 strokes at the 1999 European Open.“I really felt at times that I was playing on the PlayStation, to be honest. Every shot went straight to the pin,” commented Hidalgo.
Ángel Hidalgo
