With the final group stumbling at The K Club on Saturday, Hurly Long took full advantage, posting a third-round 70 to reach 13-under and open up a one-shot lead over nearest challenger Jordan Smith. The German will tee it up on Sunday alongside crowd favourite Rory McIlroy.

“It’s exciting,” Long said. “Last year at The Belfry I was leading after two rounds, and there were ginormous crowds out there as well. So I can take something from that. I’ve got a good attitude. I know it’s going to be way more difficult tomorrow than it was even today but you can feed off that just as well. So I’m just looking forward to it either way.”

With huge crowds watching on, World No. 2 McIlroy shot a stunning 66 to climb to 11-under and sit just two shots off the lead with 18 holes to play.

“Last night I thought I was maybe a little bit too far behind and out of it but I played a really good round of golf today to get myself back in it and I’m excited to have another opportunity (to win the Irish Open) tomorrow,” he said.

The post Get moving! Hurly Long takes advantage at Irish Open appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

That’s exactly what Texas Tech senior Hurly Long did on Saturday, shooting a second-round 61 in the Carmel Cup while representing the Red Raiders. His 11-under-par 61, including a 45-footer for birdie on the par-3 17th and an 11-footer for birdie on the par-5 18th hole puts Long above Tom Kite and David Duval atop the Pebble record books.

“It’s very surreal,” Long told PebbleBeach.com. “It’s taken me until now for it to kick in. Pebble Beach is just a special place. I was talking about it with my teammates: Where else in the world would you want to have the course record? Maybe Augusta National? It’s a huge, huge honor.”

Here’s Long’s scorecard from the feat:

Hurly Long's scorecard. What. A. Round. Ties @SFEwingIV for the lowest round in school history. 61. pic.twitter.com/m6ESdyICf8

— Texas Tech Men’s Golf (@TexasTechMGolf) September 2, 2017

Long, who’s originally from Mannheim, Germany but originally started his collegiate career at Oregon, had a bunch of highlights in the historic round, including a hole-out eagle at the sixth hole and 10 birdies to go along with a lone bogey at the iconic par-4 eighth.

And here’s video of Long’s birdie on 18:

Hurly Long with the clutch birdie on #18 for the course record at Pebble Beach. 61 ? pic.twitter.com/pTlqjHbk3e

— Texas Tech Men’s Golf (@TexasTechMGolf) September 2, 2017

Amazingly, his score for three rounds (69-61-67), though a Texas Tech team record, was matched by Oklahoma State’s Hayden Wood, and Long needed to birdie the 18th hole for a second straight day to send the two into a playoff, which Long won on the first hole.

Taking home the individual title only adds to the special weekend at Pebble Beach for Long. Though it’ll be remembered most for the historic 11-under-par round on Saturday. And certainly a moment that Long will remember for the rest of his life.

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