Lachlan Wood put himself in a strong position to claim a second G4D Tour title after posting a first-round 70 at the G4D Tour @ Amgen Irish Open.
Australian Wood finished with a flourish as he carded a closing hat-trick of birdies at the 16th, 17th and 18th to reach two under par.
The 34-year-old made a total of five birdies and three bogeys.
England's Thomas Blizzard was his nearest challenger on level par, one ahead of home favourite Brendan Lawlor and Italian Tommaso Perrino.
Wood said: "Tough conditions out there but I just stuck at it and managed what I could manage, took care of what I could.
"It's nice to finish with three birdies. That doesn't happen often so that's always a good feeling. You can't have a better feeling than that.
"It doesn't matter what score you had, finishing with three birdies is always nice.
"To win when the odds are stacked up would be great but I have been practising a lot."
