Hutcheon relishing his “second chance''
A run of threes on the final four holes helped Greig Hutcheon to a round of 67 and shot the Scot firmly into contention on the second day of the Trophée du Golf Club de Genève on the European Challenge Tour.
Despite sometimes attritional conditions at Golf Club de Genève in Switzerland, Hutcheon collected five birdies and an eagle – his second of the event – to move to five under par, three shots behind clubhouse leader Rafael Cabrera Bello of Spain.
Hutcheon admitted to making a series of “schoolboy errors” in his round of 72 yesterday, but the 35 year old – nicknamed “The Hutch” – is merely grateful to be in with a chance of earning another shot at The European Tour, having struggled with a serious shoulder injury for the past three years.
Currently 21st in the Challenge Tour Rankings – and therefore just outside qualification for The European Tour – Hutcheon knows he needs to take a fair share of the €210,000 prize fund back home to Aberdeen with him.
He said: “Those two birdies and an eagle on the last four holes brought me right back into the tournament, after a bad day at the office yesterday. I’ve been struggling to get into fifth gear for most of this season. I’ve won a few times on the Challenge Tour before, so I know what it takes – I just haven’t been able to get over the line.
“But I’m still in with a chance [of making it onto The European Tour], which is surprising because I thought my days of playing on the Challenge Tour were over, what with my shoulder injury. But then I had a couple of decent finishes in Kenya and then Morocco, so I thought I might as well keep trying – and I’m glad I did. It’s like a second chance for me really, and hopefully I can make the most of it. I’d love to have another crack at The European Tour.”
Hutcheon is one shot behind fellow Scot Andrew McArthur, whose round of 70 featured three birdies and one bogey.
In turn Mcarthur is two shots behind Cabrera Bello, whose steady round of 70 put him in sight of his second victory on Swiss soil, the Spaniard having triumphed at the recent Credit Suisse Challenge.
He said: “It was quite difficult in the conditions, because I’m not used to wearing waterproof clothes where I come from in Gran Canaria! But I know I’m playing well at the moment, so I didn’t let it affect my game.”
Cabrera Bello is currently one shot clear of Paraguay’s Marco Ruiz, who matched Hutcheon’s round of 67 to move to seven under par.
Leading early scores (round not yet complete):
136 R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 66 70.
137 M Ruiz (Par) 70 67.
138 K Eriksson (Swe) 68 70; A McArthur (Sco) 68 70; G Lockerbie (Eng) 68 70; J Morgan (Eng) 68 70.
139 G Hutcheon (Sco) 72 67
A run of threes on the final four holes helped Greig Hutcheon to a round of 67 and shot the Scot firmly into contention on the second day of the Trophée du Golf Club de Genève on the European Challenge Tour.
Despite sometimes attritional conditions at Golf Club de Genève in Switzerland, Hutcheon collected five birdies and an eagle – his second of the event – to move to five under par, three shots behind clubhouse leader Rafael Cabrera Bello of Spain.
Hutcheon admitted to making a series of “schoolboy errors” in his round of 72 yesterday, but the 35 year old – nicknamed “The Hutch” – is merely grateful to be in with a chance of earning another shot at The European Tour, having struggled with a serious shoulder injury for the past three years.
Currently 21st in the Challenge Tour Rankings – and therefore just outside qualification for The European Tour – Hutcheon knows he needs to take a fair share of the €210,000 prize fund back home to Aberdeen with him.
He said: “Those two birdies and an eagle on the last four holes brought me right back into the tournament, after a bad day at the office yesterday. I’ve been struggling to get into fifth gear for most of this season. I’ve won a few times on the Challenge Tour before, so I know what it takes – I just haven’t been able to get over the line.
“But I’m still in with a chance [of making it onto The European Tour], which is surprising because I thought my days of playing on the Challenge Tour were over, what with my shoulder injury. But then I had a couple of decent finishes in Kenya and then Morocco, so I thought I might as well keep trying – and I’m glad I did. It’s like a second chance for me really, and hopefully I can make the most of it. I’d love to have another crack at The European Tour.”
Hutcheon is one shot behind fellow Scot Andrew McArthur, whose round of 70 featured three birdies and one bogey.
In turn Mcarthur is two shots behind Cabrera Bello, whose steady round of 70 put him in sight of his second victory on Swiss soil, the Spaniard having triumphed at the recent Credit Suisse Challenge.
He said: “It was quite difficult in the conditions, because I’m not used to wearing waterproof clothes where I come from in Gran Canaria! But I know I’m playing well at the moment, so I didn’t let it affect my game.”
Cabrera Bello is currently one shot clear of Paraguay’s Marco Ruiz, who matched Hutcheon’s round of 67 to move to seven under par.
Leading early scores (round not yet complete):
136 R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 66 70.
137 M Ruiz (Par) 70 67.
138 K Eriksson (Swe) 68 70; A McArthur (Sco) 68 70; G Lockerbie (Eng) 68 70; J Morgan (Eng) 68 70.
139 G Hutcheon (Sco) 72 67
Labels: CHALLENGE TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, August 15, 2008
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home