Who is popular today?

Niall Kearney lived dangerously with his last approach shot to the 18th – narrowly making it over the water hazard with a mishit 3-wood – but he deserved any luck that came his way as the 33-year-old Dubliner added a second round 68 for an 11-under-par midway total of 133 to claim a two-stroke lead in the BMW International Open in Munich.
If he were to look over his shoulder, among those cast in the role of pursuers is multiple European Tour winner Bernd Wiesberger and current world number 14 Viktor Hovland.
But Kearney – who played in the 2009 Walker Cup which featured Rickie Fowler and Tommy Fleetwood – has been around long enough to keep his feet firmly on the ground and, making the most of limited opportunities on the European Tour, he will seek to improve on his career-best tied-fourth finish in last month’s Canary Islands Championship as he seeks a breakthrough and potentially life-changing success.
Kearney completed his weather-interrupted bogey free first round (for a 65) in the morning, and then followed up with a 68 for 133, which saw him claim five birdies and a lone bogey on the 17th. A hat-trick of birdies from the ninth to the 11th set him on his way, but it was his play on the closing 18th that had his heart in his mouth.
“It was a slight push. It felt as if the 3-wood was a little bit too much club. I was aiming for the left half of the green knowing it would be a difficult putt. I got under it a little bit. It finished great, but it wasn’t my intended line,” conceded Kearney of an approach that finished six feet from the hole. He missed the eagle chance but tapped in for the birdie.
Kearney has been at home in Dublin for the past fortnight (since missing the cut at the European Open) and arrived refreshed for this latest event, ahead of next week’s DDF Irish Open. Of the Munich course, he remarked: “The course is fantastic and it suits my eye. It’s old-fashioned with avenues and it’s quite tight off the tee. I am really enjoying it.”
Kearney was the only one of the quartet of Irishmen in the field to survive into the weekend, with Pádraig Harrington (71 for 143), Jonathan Caldwell (75 for 145) and Paul Dunne (73 for 146) missing out.
Four spots
On the PGA Tour, Séamus Power – who earned his place in the field for the Travelers Championship in Hartford, Connecticut – followed up his opening round 66 with a 67 for a midway total of seven-under-par 133, just one stroke behind early clubhouse leader Bubba Watson.
Of his game and making it through that qualifying lottery, Power said: “Monday qualifiers are tough; a lot of good players and only four spots. It’s one of those days you need your game to be there. I’ve been playing really well recently.
“I also Monday qualified for Charlotte, whenever that is five, six weeks ago, so that gave me a bit of confidence. That was the first time Mondaying for a PGA Tour event, and all of a sudden it just doesn’t seem as un-doable in a way like it had before. So that gave me bit of momentum.”
Power is aiming to make it into the top-125 on the FedEx Cup rankings (he is currently 166th) in order to regain a full tour card and didn’t even look for an invite into next week’s Irish Open as he puts all his focus on that task.
“I would love the play the Irish Open every year, but you still have to worry about your job and trying to secure [a PGA Tour card]. If I got a win or something like that, I mean, I would play absolutely every year.”
Meanwhile Stephanie Meadow recovered from an opening round 78 with a superb 69 to reach the midpoint of the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship on three-over 147, which left the Northern Irishwoman on tenterhooks awaiting the cutline.
France’s Celine Boutier shot a second round 64 for a 36-holes total of 136 (-8) to claim the clubhouse lead. Leona Maguire was among the later, second wave of players.
Second round scores & totals in the European Tour BMW International Open, Golfclub Munchen Eichenried, Munich, Germany

(Gbr & Irl unless stated, Par 72):
133 Niall Kearney 65 68
135 Viktor Hovland (Nor) 68 67, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 67 68, Jorge Campillo (Spa) 67 68, Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn) 65 70, Adrien Saddier (Fra) 66 69
136 Shaun Norris (Rsa) 67 69, Pablo Larrazabal (Spa) 66 70
137 Martin Kaymer (Ger) 70 67, Adrian Otaegui (Spa) 68 69, Andy Sullivan 68 69, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 70 67, Matthias Schmid (Ger) 68 69, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 70 67, Calum Hill 69 68, Matthew Jordan 67 70, Sebastian Garcia (Spa) 64 73
138 Justin Harding (Rsa) 69 69, Vincent Norrman (Swe) 69 69, Sean Crocker (USA) 71 67, Justin Walters (Rsa) 72 66, Victor Dubuisson (Fra) 69 69, Garrick Porteous 67 71, Svn-Hwan Kim (USA) 70 68, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 67 71, J. C. Ritchie (Rsa) 66 72
139 Min-Woo Lee (Aus) 66 73, Takumi Kanaya (Jpn) 72 67, Ignacio Elvira (Spa) 69 70, Marc Warren 68 71, Maverick Antcliff (Aus) 70 69, Nicolai Hoejgaard (Den) 70 69
140 Wade Ormsby (Aus) 65 75, Rasmus Hoejgaard (Den) 70 70, David Law 69 71, Andres Romero (Arg) 72 68, Robin Roussel (Fra) 71 69, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 71, Josh Geary (Nzl) 69 71, Daniel Gavins 69 71, Louis de Jager (Rsa) 72 68
141 Scott Hend (Aus) 73 68, Daniel van Tonder (Rsa) 70 71, Sam Horsfield 64 77, Thomas Pieters (Bel) 73 68, Matthias Schwab (Aut) 71 70, Andrew Johnston 66 75, Jazz Janewattananond (Tha) 68 73, Soeren Kjeldsen (Den) 73 68, David Horsey 71 70, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 69 72, Benjamin Poke (Den) 72 69, Kristoffer Broberg (Swe) 70 71, Wil Besseling (Ned) 72 69, Jacques Kruyswijk (Rsa) 69 72, Matthew Baldwin 68 73
142 Richard Mansell 74 68, Sergio Garcia (Spa) 73 69, Thorbjoern Olesen (Den) 69 73, Dean Burmester (Rsa) 71 71, Steven Brown 72 70, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 70 72, Antoine Rozner (Fra) 76 66, Ryan Fox (Nzl) 70 72, Philipp Mejow (Ger) 71 71, Freddy Schott (Ger) 73 69, Zander Lombard (Rsa) 69 73, Jeff Winther (Den) 74 68, Grant Forrest 69 73, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 71 71, James Morrison 73 69, David Howell 74 68, Darius van Driel (Ned) 71 71, Carlos Pigem (Spa) 74 68, Dale Whitnell 69 73, Marcel Schneider (Ger) 69 73, Nicolai von Dellingshausen (Ger) 72 70
Irish missed the cut: 143 Padraig Harrington 72 71; 145 Jonathan Caldwell 70 75, 146 Paul Dunne 73 73.