Date: June 30, 2013
Author: Omnisport

Luiten tops Irish Open leaderboard

Dutchman Joost Luiten sits top of the Irish Open leaderboard going into the final day thanks to an impressive six-under-par round on Saturday. Luiten has been in excellent form throughout June, finishing 11th in the Nordea Masters and 10th in the German Open, and now sits at 13 under for the tournament with one round remaining at Carton House. The world number 94 hit six birdies in his round of 66 as his strong approach play ensured that he never had too much work to do on the greens. The 2013 Lyoness Open winner heads into Sunday&aposs play a shot clear of Pablo Larrazabal in second Spaniard Larrazabal also shot six under, thanks partly to delightful approach shots at the fourth and ninth that left him with five-foot putts for birdies, to move him six places up the leaderboard and two shots clear of England&aposs Robert Rock. Rock, who shared the overnight lead with American Peter Uihlein, finished one under and remains a shot clear of compatriot Paul Casey, who is tied for fourth with Scotland&aposs Scott Henry after they signed for five under and three under respectively. Alvaro Quiros of Spain is one of six players tied for sixth after he repeated his second-round score of 68 to move up 10 places and within four shots of the lead. Joint halfway leader Uihlein, early pacesetter Oscar Floren and home favourite Shane Lowry all had days to forget, shooting over-par rounds to leave them with plenty of work to do on the final day. The windy conditions made life tough for many of those involved and Luiten admitted that he was delighted with his round considering the weather. “It was good today – a round in this wind with no bogeys is always good,” Luiten told the European Tour website. “It looks like I&aposm playing good, playing consistently. I don&apost make a lot of silly mistakes, the game feels good. “It&aposs always great to go into the last round of the tournament as the leader, but this is The Irish Open and perhaps bigger than some other events.”