Angel Hidalgo came up just short of making DP World Tour history on Saturday. His third-round 63 at the Amgen Irish Open featured 12 birdies, tying for the most over 18 holes on the circuit.
He also tied Darren Clarke’s mark of 12 birdies recorded in one round at The K Club in Ireland, which is hosting this year’s event. Hidalgo is the ninth player to have that made birdies in one round on the DP World Tour.
Hidalgo has moved into solo second after 54 holes at 14 under, just a shot back of tournament leader Adrien Saddier. Alfredo Garcia-Heredia is solo third at 12 under. There’s a two-way tie for fourth at 11 under between Rory McIlroy and Joakim Lagergren.
Hidalgo came out firing Saturday, with seven straight birdies on Nos. 2 through 8. He tacked on four more on Nos. 10 and 11 as well as Nos. 14 and 15 before a double-bogey 7 on the par-5 16th. He closed par-birdie for his 63.
How would he describe his round?, he was asked.
“Well, I can’t,” he said. “I really felt for a few moments I was playing on the Playstation, to be honest. Every single shot was directly to the pin.”
The birdies came in various ways. On the third hole, he stuff his approach to the par 3 to a foot and a half. On the fifth, he canned a 43-foot putt.
“I was feeling since the shot on hole number three – I hit a perfect shot – I felt in control with the swing. I felt smooth,” he said. “I said to my caddie, ‘okay, it’s a moment to throw the coin and see if we can go really low’.”
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