Estoril Senior Open top-10 finish looks assured

TORRANCE HOMES IN ON EUROPEAN
SENIOR TOUR ORDER OF MERIT

FROM STEVEN FRANKLIN
Press Officer, European Seniors Tour
Sam Torrance is expected to wrap up his second successive European Seniors Tour Order of Merit at the Estoril Senior Open of Portugal on Sunday.A top-10 finish at Quinta da Marinha’s Oitavos Golfe, to the west of Lisbon, would rubber-stamp the Ayrshire man’s position as Europe's top over-50s professional golfer.
Torrance, pictured right, took another step towards that goal with a second round of 70 (one under par) for a share of third place five-under 137."Winning back-to-back Order of Merits would be a tremendous achievement. It is something I have strived for all year. I have played in nearly every event and showed how much I want this. Now I just need to focus on Sunday," said Torrance, who mixed five birdies with four bogeys for his 70.England's Carl Mason, who still has an outside chance of overhauling Torrance at the top of the Order of Merit if he wins the current event and the final event of the season in Bahrain next month, is on nine-under-par 133.
Carl will take a three-shot advantage over Stewart Ginn and a four-shot lead over the joint third-placed Torrance and Jose Rivero into the final 18 holes.Mason added a 69 to his brilliant opening round 64.
SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 71
133 Carl Mason (Eng) 64 69.
136 Stewart Ginn (Aus) 69 67.
137 Sam Torrance (Sco) 67 70, Jose Rivero (Spa) 66 71.
138 Juan Quiros (Spa) 66 72.
140 Nick Job (Eng) 68 72, Tony Johnstone (Zim) 67 73.
141 Alan Mew (Tri) 70 71, Adan Sowa (Arg) 73 68, Horacio Carbonetti (Arg) 72 69, Eamonn Darcy (Ire) 71 70, Glenn Ralph (Eng) 71 70, John Mashego (SAf) 68 73, Bertus Smit (SAf) 68 73.
142 Giuseppe Cali (Ita) 72 70, Delroy Cambridge (Jam) 71 71, Emilio Rodriguez (Spa) 70 72, Bill Longmuir (Sco) 69 73.
143 Angel Fernandez (Chi) 76 67, Bobby Lincoln (SAf) 75 68, Gavan Levenson (SAf) 71 72.
144 Bill McColl (Sco) 73 71, David J Russell (Eng) 70 74.
145 Gery Watine (Fra) 75 70, Luis Carbonetti (Arg) 73 72, David Good (Aus) 73 72, Gordon J Brand (Eng) 72 73, Jim Rhodes (Eng) 71 74.
146 Martin Poxon (Eng) 78 68, Pete Oakley (US) 76 70, Rigoberto Velasquez (Col) 75 71, Simon Owen (NZ) 75 71, Doug Johnson (US) 73 73, Terry Gale (Aus) 73 73, Guillermo Encina (Chi) 70 76.
147 Hank Woodrome (US) 77 70, Bruce Heuchan (Can) 76 71, John Chillas (Sco) 71 76.
148 Maurice Bembridge (Eng) 71 77, David Creamer (Eng) 77 71, Bob Cameron (Eng) 77 71, Manuel Pinero (Spa) 77 71, Martin Foster (Eng) 72 76.
149 Alan Tapie (US) 77 72, Mike Miller (Sco) 76 73, Ian Mosey (Eng) 76 73, Ray Carrasco (US) 74 75, Denis O'Sullivan (Ire) 74 75, Jimmy Heggarty (NI) 72 77.
150 Bob Lendzion (US) 75 75, Tony Allen (Eng) 75 75, Manuel Calero (Spa) 74 76, John Benda (US) 73 77, Bob Lendzion (US) 75 75.
151 Martin Gray (Sco) 78 73, Noel Ratcliffe (Aus) 76 75, Bill Hardwick (Can) 76 75.152 Jerry Bruner (US) 80 72, Mike Ferguson (Aus) 80 72.
153 Bill Malley (US) 80 73, Bob Larratt (Eng) 78 75, Craig Defoy (Wal) 74 79.
154 Robin Mann (Eng) 80 74.
155 Victor Garcia (Spa) 80 75, Kevin Spurgeon (Eng) 75 80.
156 Gordon Townhill (Eng) 79 77.
157 Jean Pierre Sallat (Fra) 80 77.
158 Antonio Garrido (Esp) 81 77.
159 Liam Higgins (Ire) 78 81.160 Eddie Polland (NI) 83 77.165 Greg Hopkins (US) 81 84.
Retired - Paul Leonard (NI).