IT will be a Northern Irish pairing to finish off the week at The Open but in bittersweet circumstances as the conditions at Royal Troon tore Tom McKibbin and Darren Clarke’s bids apart on Saturday.
Local golf fans will be delighted to see the new kid on the block go out alongside the wily veteran and former Claret Jug winner, but the fact it has come about after two poor third round performances is not what the doctor ordered.
On the periphery of contention going into round three, McKibbin had eyed up an under-par round but quickly found himself blown off course, an opening bogey preceding a triple-bogey and a double-bogey in a front nine 42 that would eventually end in a six-over 77.
Clarke, meanwhile, fared little better in a birdie-less outing that saw him card three bogeys and a double around 14 pars in a 76 that has him down at 11-over-par, two back of McKibbin who is at nine-over and still seeking that elusive first sub-par round in a Major that he is desperately craving
Saturday was not the day to achieve that as the wind and rain rolled into Troon and de-railed many a round, and when the 21-year-old failed to get up-and-down from the greenside bunker at the opening hole for a bogey, that would set the tone.
He would only compound it by taking an eight at the par-five sixth as he found both the fairway and greenside bunkers before then three-putting and, as Shane Lowry would later, McKibbin would come unstuck at the Postage Stamp, the par-three eighth seeing him fly the green with his tee shot and then fail to get his chip shot back up the slope on his way to a double-bogey, which was followed by a bogey at the par-four 10th.
The Newtownabbey man would steady the ship with four straight pars and then a 46-foot putt at the 14th would bring about the first of back-to-back birdies, an 11-foot putt dropping on the par-five 15th as well.
A closing bogey would drop him back to nine-over and, inadvertently, set up a final round pairing with Clarke, who had made the cut on the number but was only able to back that up with a 76 in round three.
The 2011 champion golfer would struggle for birdie chances and would turn with two bogeys on the card, a greenside bunker leading to a dropped shot at the par-three fifth and a failed up-and-down doing likewise at the par-four seventh.
With the wind picking up, Clarke would struggle on the inward nine, particularly on the longer holes, with the 504-yard 11th resulting in a bogey and a wild drive at the par-four 13th eventually resulting in his double-bogey.
The pair, who played a practice round together earlier in the week but have never played side-by-side in tournament play before, will tee off their final round at 7.55am.