Lloyd Saltman misses another cut

by four on Euro Challenge Tour

Lothians man Lloyd Saltman has missed another cut on the Challenge Tour. Uninspired rounds of 75 and 73 for 148 saw him drop out of the Piemonte Open at Turin, Italy at the halfway stage. Only those with 144 or better qualified for the third and fourth rounds.
Fellow Scots Andrew McArthur (Windyhill) and Eric Ramsay (Carnoustie) both missed the cut by a single Scot.
Scots still in there pitching are Peter Whiteford on 143, and four who made it with nothing to spare on 144 - Greig Hutcheon, Jamie McLeary, George Murray and Scott Henry.
Paul Symes, European Challenge Tour Press Officer, reports:
A second successive 67 saw two-time Challenge Tour champion Italian Edoardo Molinari take command of the Piemonte Open, being played in his home town of Turin.
Whilst elder brother Francesco laboured to a round of 77 in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, Edoardo plundered six birdies in a flawless display at Golf Club La Mandria to extend his lead in the €150,000 event.
Just as he had on the opening day, Molinari picked up shots on the 11th, 14th and 17th holes, before a pair of birdies on the front nine – his back nine – moved the 28 year old two shots clear of his closest rival, Norwegian Jan-Are Larsen.
Molinari won both the Club Colombia Masters and the Tusker Kenya Open en route to 16th place in the 2007 Challenge Tour Rankings, but would dearly love to capture a maiden professional title on home soil.
He said: “I played very well again today – probably better than I did yesterday. It could’ve been even lower, because I missed a couple of birdie putts on the back nine. But overall I have to be very happy, because it puts me in a good position going into the weekend.
“The key to playing well at this course is to drive the ball well, because the rough is very tough. If you can keep the ball in play off the tee, you’ve got a good chance of making birdies. Apart from three of the par-5s where I missed the fairway, I managed to drive the ball very well today. If I can find the fairways on the par-5s I’m confident of going even lower, because most of them are reachable in two.
“Overall I feel nice and fresh after taking the week off after the Italian Open to prepare. I spent a week on the practice range just making some small changes to my swing, and I’m glad I did.
"I’ve got a long run of events coming up on the Challenge Tour, so it felt like a good time to take a break. If I hadn’t taken the week off, maybe I wouldn’t have played so well here.
“I’m really looking forward to the weekend now, and hopefully I can keep playing the way I have been. The way I’m striking the ball I feel I can go low again, and if I can shoot two more rounds of 67 then I’ll be in with a great chance of winning. It would be fantastic to win a tournament in Italy, but I know I’m going to have to play well.”
Six birdies and three bogeys in an eventful round of 69 saw Larsen relinquish the overnight lead he had held jointly with Molinari, whilst the lowest round of the tournament to date was posted by Gregory Molteni, whose 66 moved him into a share of fourth place.
Having opened with an eagle 3, Molteni compiled five birdies and a solitary bogey to join the English duo of Gary Boyd and Matthew Morris on six under par. Morris opened with a birdie and added another two to reach the turn in 33, but could only manage level par on the back nine for a second successive 69.
Compatriot Boyd, currently leading the Rankings, is in with a chance of capturing his second title of the season after a round of 67 moved him to within four shots of the lead. Fellow Englishman Richard McEvoy, who signed for a round of 67, is a shot further back on five under par alongside France’s Benjamin Hebert, Italy’s Marco Soffietti, and Spaniard Carlos Rodiles.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
134 E Molinari (Ita) 67 67.
136 J Larsen (Nor) 67 69.
138 M Morris (Eng) 69 69, G Molteni (Ita) 72 66, G Boyd (Eng) 71 67.
139 M Soffietti (Ita) 68 71, B Hebert (Fra) 70 69, R McEvoy (Eng) 72 67, C Rodiles (Esp) 68 71. 140 J Zapata (Arg) 70 70, A Butterfield (Eng) 69 71, L Kennedy (Eng) 73 67, J Quesne (Fra) 71 69, R Coles (Eng) 68 72.
141 G Paddison (Nzl) 73 68, F Colombo (Ita) 71 70, F Calmels (Fra) 70 71, O David (Fra) 68 73, G Gresse (Bel) 73 68, N Colsaerts (Bel) 68 73, C Günther (Ger) 69 72, A Bruschi (Ita) 72 69, A Bossert (Sui) 71 70.
142 J Morrison (Eng) 74 68, L James (Eng) 71 71, J Clément (Sui) 71 71, A Marshall (Eng) 71 71, R Steiner (Aut) 69 73, J Billot (Fra) 72 70, F Fritsch (Ger) 71 71, M Zions (Aus) 73 69, J Guerrier (Fra) 70 72, M Wiegele (Aut) 72 70, C Russo (Fra) 71 71,
143 P Whiteford (Sco) 70 73, D Nouailhac (Fra) 74 69, A Ahokas (Fin) 70 73, R Kakko (Fin) 72 71, M Crespi (Ita) 69 74, J Arruti (Esp) 71 72, C Carranza (Arg) 70 73, G Shaw (Nir) 73 70, M Higley (Eng) 72 71, J Grillon (Fra) 72 71,
144 J Sjöholm (Swe) 75 69, F Svanberg (Sui) 76 68, M Delpodio (Ita) 74 70, N Maestroni (Ita) 73 71, J Abbate (Arg) 73 71, G Hutcheon (Sco) 73 71, B Pettersson (Swe) 72 72, A Willey (Eng) 71 73, J McLeary (Sco) 72 72, A Grenier (Fra) 73 71, D Marmion (Eng) 70 74, G Murray (Sco) 73 71, A Gee (Eng) 74 70, A Hansen (Den) 72 72, M Tullo (Chi) 72 72, B Evans (Eng) 73 71, S Henry (Sco) 71 73, V Riu (Fra) 74 70,
MISSED THE CUT
145 E Ramsay (Sco) 73 72, S Jeppesen (Swe) 72 73, W Schauman (Swe) 72 73, J Parry (Eng) 74 71, S Robinson (Eng) 72 73, A Mörk (Fra) 75 70, A Tampion (Aus) 72 73, C Suneson (Esp) 69 76, L Bond (Wal) 74 71, E Lattanzi (Ita) 74 71, P Baker (Eng) 72 73, R De Sousa (Sui) 72 73, A McArthur (Sco) 74 71, L Brovold (Nor) 70 75, J Wahlqvist (Swe) 73 72, M Laskey (Wal) 71 74.
146 A Wagner (Arg) 74 72, N Fox (Irl) 75 71, M Jurgensen (Den) 72 74, M Rodriguez (Arg) 72 74, M Rominger (Sui) 76 70, M Cort (Eng) 73 73, K Jorgensen (Den) 72 74, B Mason (Eng) 73 73, T Whitehouse (Eng) 73 73, L Westerberg (Swe) 73 73.
147 N Joakimides (Fra) 71 76, E Canonica (Ita) 75 72, C Moriarty (Irl) 70 77, G Houston (Wal) 74 73, M Korhonen (Fin) 72 75, I Giner (Esp) 73 74, I Pyman (Eng) 75 72, B Miarka (Ger) 70 77, A Perrino (Ita) 78 69, B Lecuona (Fra) 78 69, R Treis (Ger) 76 71, C Gane (Eng) 73 74.
148 T Cruz (Por) 73 75, T Dykes (Wal) 77 71, A Högberg (Swe) 75 73, P Bronson (USA) 77 71, P Gustafsson (Swe) 69 79, C Brazillier (Fra) 73 75, L Saltman (Sco) 75 73.
149 C Monasterio (Arg) 75 74, J Colomo (Esp) 72 77, R Swane (Ned) 76 73, N Smith (USA) 73 76, M Reale (Ita) 78 71, M Haastrup (Den) 74 75, A Grammatica (am) (Ita) 75 74.
150 J Altonen (Fin) 78 72, D Griffiths (Eng) 76 74, J Moul (Eng) 76 74, T Schuster (Ger) 72 78, P Purhonen (Fin) 76 74, J Bjerhag (Swe) 74 76, A Haindl (RSA) 78 72, A Zanini (Ita) 78 72, J Ruth (Eng) 77 73, S Reale (Ita) 73 77.
151 P Bocian (Swe) 74 77, D Küpper (Ger) 75 76, O Floren (Swe) 77 74, R Santos (Por) 77 74, A Zani (Ita) 73 78, S Piaget (Mon) 81 70, S Brizzolari (Ita) 76 75, T Feyrsinger (Aut) 75 76,
152 R Hie (Ina) 79 73, M Guerisoli (Ita) 81 71, K Sullivan (Wal) 79 73, N Lemke (Swe) 73 79, G Vicente Elena (Esp) 74 78.
153 N Cabrera (Par) 77 76, B Etchart (Esp) 77 76, A McLean (Sco) 70 83, J Boerdonk (Ned) 76 77.
154 J Forestier (Fra) 78 76, D Ulrich (Sui) 78 76, B Parker (Eng) 77 77,
155 A Bernadet (Fra) 83 72, D Olsen (USA) 77 78, M Gojcic (Slo) 77 78, M Kramer (Ger) 77 78,
156 I Garcia Avis (Esp) 80 76.
157 P Terreni (Ita) 77 80, E Sesia (am) (Ita) 81 76.
158 A Rota (Ita) 80 78, G Tonelli (Ita) 75 83, M Bernardini (Ita) 79 79.
159 N Meitinger (Ger) 77 82.
167 A Garbaccio (am) (Ita) 84 83.