Steven O'Hara marks time in third
place on European Challenge Tour
From Paul Symes, European Challenge Tour Press Officer
England’s Richard Bland has targeted a round of 64 on the final day of the Trophée du Golf Club de Genève as he bids to chase down runaway leader Wil Besseling of The Netherlands.
Bland’s third day 69 at Golf Club de Genève moved the 35 year old to 12 under par 204, five shots behind Besseling, who built a seemingly unassailable lead after a sublime round of 67.
The Englishman cannot exert direct pressure on the leader as the unique event is played in a Pro-Am format, but Bland is still planning to make Besseling work hard for the €24,400 on offer to the winner.
He said: “It is a course you can shoot low on, so a lot depends on how well Wil copes. Five shots seems a big cushion, but it can be difficult to know whether to play conservatively or stretch your lead, so you can get caught in two minds.
"All I can do is to attack – the course is certainly set up that way. Assuming he shoots 70, I’m going to have to shoot 64. It won’t easy, but it can be done.
“The fact that he’s not playing with anyone probably works in his favour, but there’s a few leaderboards around the course so he’ll still be aware of what everyone else is doing. If I can’t manage to close the gap, then obviously the next best thing is to secure a decent finish to climb the Rankings and take a step nearer The European Tour.”
For his part, Besseling admitted he had sometimes allowed his mind to drift to what it might be like to join his friend and compatriot Joost Luiten on The European Tour, but vowed to set such thoughts aside and instead concentrate on securing the second Challenge Tour victory of his fledgling career.
Besseling, who made his fourth eagle of the tournament on the 13th hole, said: “I’m feeling really good at the moment, particularly on the greens. I said to my caddy that I’ve got a similar feeling to when I last won on the Challenge Tour, in Colombia – although it’s not quite as hot here! I’m really looking forward to the last round, and hopefully I can finish it off.
“If I do win again, maybe I can start thinking about next year. It’d be a dream to play on The European Tour. That’s why we do all the travelling and the practising. It’s getting closer, but I’m definitely not there yet.”
Steven O’Hara’s round of 72 meant the Scot stayed on ten under par 206, one shot ahead of England’s Gary Lockerbie.
Leading early scores (round not complete yet):
Par 216 (3 x 72)
199 W Besseling (Ned) 68 64 67.
204 R Bland (Eng) 65 70 69.
206 S O’Hara (Sco) 68 66 72.
207 G Lockerbie (Eng) 68 70 69.
209 I Van Weerelt (Ned) 70 70 69.
210 S Robinson (Eng) 71 70 69.
211 K Eriksson (Swe) 68 70 73; J Haeggman (Swe) 74 66 71.
212 R de Sousa (Sui) 69 71 72.
213 E Goya (Arg) 68 73 72; T Feyrsinger (Aut) 69 72 72; M McGeady (Ire) 68 72 73.
215 C Nilsson (Swe) 72 70 73.
216 A Bossert (Sui) 73 70 73
place on European Challenge Tour
From Paul Symes, European Challenge Tour Press Officer
England’s Richard Bland has targeted a round of 64 on the final day of the Trophée du Golf Club de Genève as he bids to chase down runaway leader Wil Besseling of The Netherlands.
Bland’s third day 69 at Golf Club de Genève moved the 35 year old to 12 under par 204, five shots behind Besseling, who built a seemingly unassailable lead after a sublime round of 67.
The Englishman cannot exert direct pressure on the leader as the unique event is played in a Pro-Am format, but Bland is still planning to make Besseling work hard for the €24,400 on offer to the winner.
He said: “It is a course you can shoot low on, so a lot depends on how well Wil copes. Five shots seems a big cushion, but it can be difficult to know whether to play conservatively or stretch your lead, so you can get caught in two minds.
"All I can do is to attack – the course is certainly set up that way. Assuming he shoots 70, I’m going to have to shoot 64. It won’t easy, but it can be done.
“The fact that he’s not playing with anyone probably works in his favour, but there’s a few leaderboards around the course so he’ll still be aware of what everyone else is doing. If I can’t manage to close the gap, then obviously the next best thing is to secure a decent finish to climb the Rankings and take a step nearer The European Tour.”
For his part, Besseling admitted he had sometimes allowed his mind to drift to what it might be like to join his friend and compatriot Joost Luiten on The European Tour, but vowed to set such thoughts aside and instead concentrate on securing the second Challenge Tour victory of his fledgling career.
Besseling, who made his fourth eagle of the tournament on the 13th hole, said: “I’m feeling really good at the moment, particularly on the greens. I said to my caddy that I’ve got a similar feeling to when I last won on the Challenge Tour, in Colombia – although it’s not quite as hot here! I’m really looking forward to the last round, and hopefully I can finish it off.
“If I do win again, maybe I can start thinking about next year. It’d be a dream to play on The European Tour. That’s why we do all the travelling and the practising. It’s getting closer, but I’m definitely not there yet.”
Steven O’Hara’s round of 72 meant the Scot stayed on ten under par 206, one shot ahead of England’s Gary Lockerbie.
Leading early scores (round not complete yet):
Par 216 (3 x 72)
199 W Besseling (Ned) 68 64 67.
204 R Bland (Eng) 65 70 69.
206 S O’Hara (Sco) 68 66 72.
207 G Lockerbie (Eng) 68 70 69.
209 I Van Weerelt (Ned) 70 70 69.
210 S Robinson (Eng) 71 70 69.
211 K Eriksson (Swe) 68 70 73; J Haeggman (Swe) 74 66 71.
212 R de Sousa (Sui) 69 71 72.
213 E Goya (Arg) 68 73 72; T Feyrsinger (Aut) 69 72 72; M McGeady (Ire) 68 72 73.
215 C Nilsson (Swe) 72 70 73.
216 A Bossert (Sui) 73 70 73
Labels: CHALLENGE TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Saturday, August 16, 2008
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home