Challenge Tour event in Ireland
Hutcheon in the hunt despite dropped shots
From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
Despite a disappointing finish to his round of 70, Scotland’s Greig Hutcheon is still in contention to capture his fourth Challenge Tour title in the Challenge of Ireland presented by Moyvalley.
After two rounds at Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Resort in Co. Kildare, Ireland, the Peterculter ace is tied with Wales’ Rhys Davies on six under par, three shots behind leader Ake Nilsson of Sweden.
But Hutcheon’s position would have been so much better had he not dropped four shots in his final five holes.
He said: “It was a shame, because I didn’t do an awful lot wrong. I played safe with a two iron off the tee on the 13th, and it fell into the trap. I could only get it into the next bunker from there. My fourth shot ended up in the greenside bunker, so I splashed out and hit a good putt, but it stopped a couple of inches short of the hole.
“So I walked off with a seven, then hit a poor tee shot into the rough on the 16th, which cost me a bogey. I hit the wrong club on the 17th and three putted for bogey, then should have found the green in two on the 18th, but hit a poor three wood. So I feel like I gave a lot of shots away today, but I’m still not too far behind. If I can cut out the mistakes, I have a chance."
Caldwell and Coles on Nilsson’s tail
Home hope Jonathan Caldwell and England’s Robert Coles are in hot pursuit of Sweden’s Ake Nilsson, who will carry a slender lead into the third day of the Challenge of Ireland presented by Moyvalley.
A morning round of 68, compiled in damp conditions, saw Nilsson carry on where he left at Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Resort in Co. Kildare, Ireland. The Swede notched seven birdies to move to nine under par, one shot clear of Caldwell and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, and two clear of Coles.
Welshman Rhys Davies and Scotland’s Greig Hutcheon complete the top six after recording respective rounds of 67 and 70. The joint lowest round of the day was posted by Ireland’s Michael McGeady, who set a new course record with a 66 which was matched late in the day by Colsaerts.
But the man they all still have to catch is Nilsson, who feels more relaxed on the Challenge Tour after struggling somewhat to cope with the hectic pace of life on The European Tour.
He said: “When I used to come over to Challenge Tour events after playing mainly in the Nordic League in the past, I put too much pressure on myself to do well instead of just trying to relax and enjoy myself, which affected my form. But having come from the main Tour, I don’t feel as much pressure to perform this week, and I think that’s showed in the way I’ve played.”
Fellow Qualifying School graduate Caldwell is also playing his first Challenge Tour event of the season. After a second successive round of 68, the Ulsterman is well in contention to capture his maiden title since turning professional late last year.
He said: “I’d love to be there or thereabouts come Sunday. I haven’t won a tournament since turning pro, so to do it in Ireland would be great. I’ve got a few friends and family down here with me, and my brother’s on my bag. So I’m looking forward to the weekend, and hopefully we can get the same kind of weather. It’d be good to take some decent form back onto the main Tour with me, because I felt like I was getting the hang of it. I had a habit of pulling my drives slightly left, but I’ve done some work on it and we seem to be getting there. My putting’s also improved, so hopefully I can put it all together over the weekend.”
The more experienced Coles is well used to being in contention going into the weekend, having won in Morocco earlier in the season and finished runner-up on two other occasions.
He said: “I still feel I can play better. I putted well today and yesterday, but other parts of my game aren’t quite at 100%. But I suppose if I can still score well without playing at my absolute best, that has to be a good sign. Sometimes you play well and don’t score, then other times you’re not at your best but the puts drop. That’s the beauty of golf I suppose. Over the course of four rounds, it evens itself out and the best man usually wins. I just hope it can be me.”
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
135 Å Nilsson (Swe) 67 68,
136 N Colsaerts (Bel) 70 66, J Caldwell (Nir) 68 68,
137 R Coles (Eng) 68 69,
138 R Davies (Wal) 71 67, G Hutcheon (Sco) 68 70,
139 P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 69, A Mellor (Eng) 72 67, P Whiteford (Sco) 71 68, P Kaensche (Nor) 68 71,
140 M McGeady (Irl) 74 66, P Baker (Eng) 68 72, C Moriarty (Irl) 70 70, M Haastrup (Den) 70 70, F Calmels (Fra) 72 68
141 A Marshall (Eng) 70 71, M Tullo (Chi) 76 65, J Hepworth (Eng) 70 71, J Etulain (Arg) 68 73, 142 C Carranza (Arg) 70 72, S Walker (Eng) 72 70, M Kramer (Ger) 68 74, D Ulrich (Sui) 72 70, R Karlberg (Swe) 72 70, M Curtain (Aus) 73 69
143 C Monasterio (Arg) 68 75, B Mason (Eng) 72 71, R Harris (Eng) 73 70, E Ramsay (Sco) 74 69, D Küpper (Ger) 72 71, N Lemke (Swe) 72 71, A Haindl (RSA) 71 72, G Woodman (Eng) 69 74, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 73, J Olesen (Den) 71 72, M Durcan (am) (Irl) 75 68
144 M Millar (Aus) 73 71, S Surry (Eng) 75 69, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 73 71, S Thornton (Irl) 74 70, J Morrison (Eng) 72 72, J Parry (Eng) 71 73, M Quiros (Esp) 75 69, C Russo (Fra) 73 71
145 J Quesne (Fra) 71 74, T Rice (Irl) 72 73, J Moul (Eng) 77 68, R Treis (Ger) 72 73, M Rodriguez (Arg) 70 75, G Clark (Eng) 71 74, R Kilpatrick (Nir) 76 69, N Turner (Irl) 72 73, A Hansen (Den) 73 72, C McNamara (Irl) 71 74, L De Jager (RSA) 74 71, D Wardrop (Eng) 74 71, L Kennedy (Eng) 72 73, F Svanberg (Sui) 73 72
146 P Del Grosso (Arg) 73 73, R Santos (Por) 76 70, J Abbate (Arg) 72 74, S Bebb (Wal) 76 70, P Bocian (Swe) 74 72, R Giles (Eng) 73 73, N Fox (Irl) 75 71, M Zions (Aus) 74 72, F Fritsch (Ger) 72 74
MISSED THE CUT
147 M Ruiz (Par) 71 76, D Higgins (Irl) 73 74, C Gane (Eng) 74 73, J Heath (Eng) 70 77, A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 71 76, J Little (Eng) 73 74, S Arnold (Aus) 73 74, D Hewan (RSA) 73 74, C Devlin (Nir) 72 75, S Robinson (Eng) 76 71, J Kehoe (Irl) 76 71, S Manley (Wal) 76 71, J Billot (Fra) 72 75, A McArthur (Sco) 72 75, A Butterfield (Eng) 73 74, R Steele (Eng) 70 77
148 C Phadungsil (Tha) 75 73, D Denison (Eng) 74 74, J Mommo (Fin) 72 76, P O'Hanlon (Irl) 76 72, P Relecom (Bel) 73 75, T Whitehouse (Eng) 72 76, A Bernadet (Fra) 74 74, J McCreadie (Sco) 77 71, P Streeter (Eng) 73 75
149 J Levermore (Eng) 76 73, R McEvoy (Eng) 78 71, T Ferreira (RSA) 72 77, L Westerberg (Swe) 76 73, S Grant (Irl) 75 74, J Boerdonk (Ned) 74 75, G Murray (Sco) 74 75, B Evans (Eng) 77 72, J McLeary (Sco) 71 78, A Grenier (Fra) 76 73, M Ramsdale (Eng) 76 73
150 G Shaw (Nir) 74 76, G Houston (Wal) 75 75, J Ruth (Eng) 73 77, C Aguilar (Esp) 72 78, L Brovold (Nor) 76 74, D Nouailhac (Fra) 74 76, K Jorgensen (Den) 71 79, S Henry (Sco) 72 78, M McDermott (Irl) 74 76, J Kelly (Irl) 74 76, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 76 74, M Campbell (Irl) 75 75, P O'Keeffe (Irl) 79 71, A Murray (Irl) 74 76, A Willey (Eng) 77 73
151 A Tampion (Aus) 78 73, J Sköld (Swe) 78 73, T Mullally (Irl) 77 74, K Sullivan (Wal) 72 79, L Saltman (Sco) 73 78, S Jeppesen (Swe) 75 76, D Griffiths (Eng) 70 81, M Hooper (Eng) 75 76
152 M Laskey (Wal) 77 75, S Juul (Den) 72 80, L James (Eng) 73 79, D Marmion (Eng) 75 77, V Riu (Fra) 79 73, A Bruschi (Ita) 79 73, K Webber (Aus) 73 79, T Cruz (Por) 71 81, C Selfridge (am) (Irl) 75 77
153 K Staunton (Eng) 77 76, P Purhonen (Fin) 78 75, A Oldcorn (Sco) 76 77, A Thorpe (Eng) 80 73
154 A Mörk (Fra) 75 79
155 S Saavedra (Arg) 75 80, M Mackenzie (Eng) 75 80, J Wahlqvist (Swe) 79 76
156 F Praegant (Aut) 79 77, L Bond (Wal) 79 77, J Grillon (Fra) 76 80
157 M Pilkington (Wal) 80 77, D Froreich (Ger) 78 79, P Reavey (am) (Irl) 77 80
159 D Reilly (am) (Irl) 77 82
160 O Suhr (Den) 81 79
Disqualified - M Cort (Eng) 73, M Murphy (Irl) 73, R Gonzalez (Arg) 75.
Retired - M Mills (Eng) 76.
Withdrew - O Floren (Swe) 83.
From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
Despite a disappointing finish to his round of 70, Scotland’s Greig Hutcheon is still in contention to capture his fourth Challenge Tour title in the Challenge of Ireland presented by Moyvalley.
After two rounds at Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Resort in Co. Kildare, Ireland, the Peterculter ace is tied with Wales’ Rhys Davies on six under par, three shots behind leader Ake Nilsson of Sweden.
But Hutcheon’s position would have been so much better had he not dropped four shots in his final five holes.
He said: “It was a shame, because I didn’t do an awful lot wrong. I played safe with a two iron off the tee on the 13th, and it fell into the trap. I could only get it into the next bunker from there. My fourth shot ended up in the greenside bunker, so I splashed out and hit a good putt, but it stopped a couple of inches short of the hole.
“So I walked off with a seven, then hit a poor tee shot into the rough on the 16th, which cost me a bogey. I hit the wrong club on the 17th and three putted for bogey, then should have found the green in two on the 18th, but hit a poor three wood. So I feel like I gave a lot of shots away today, but I’m still not too far behind. If I can cut out the mistakes, I have a chance."
Caldwell and Coles on Nilsson’s tail
Home hope Jonathan Caldwell and England’s Robert Coles are in hot pursuit of Sweden’s Ake Nilsson, who will carry a slender lead into the third day of the Challenge of Ireland presented by Moyvalley.
A morning round of 68, compiled in damp conditions, saw Nilsson carry on where he left at Moyvalley Hotel and Golf Resort in Co. Kildare, Ireland. The Swede notched seven birdies to move to nine under par, one shot clear of Caldwell and Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts, and two clear of Coles.
Welshman Rhys Davies and Scotland’s Greig Hutcheon complete the top six after recording respective rounds of 67 and 70. The joint lowest round of the day was posted by Ireland’s Michael McGeady, who set a new course record with a 66 which was matched late in the day by Colsaerts.
But the man they all still have to catch is Nilsson, who feels more relaxed on the Challenge Tour after struggling somewhat to cope with the hectic pace of life on The European Tour.
He said: “When I used to come over to Challenge Tour events after playing mainly in the Nordic League in the past, I put too much pressure on myself to do well instead of just trying to relax and enjoy myself, which affected my form. But having come from the main Tour, I don’t feel as much pressure to perform this week, and I think that’s showed in the way I’ve played.”
Fellow Qualifying School graduate Caldwell is also playing his first Challenge Tour event of the season. After a second successive round of 68, the Ulsterman is well in contention to capture his maiden title since turning professional late last year.
He said: “I’d love to be there or thereabouts come Sunday. I haven’t won a tournament since turning pro, so to do it in Ireland would be great. I’ve got a few friends and family down here with me, and my brother’s on my bag. So I’m looking forward to the weekend, and hopefully we can get the same kind of weather. It’d be good to take some decent form back onto the main Tour with me, because I felt like I was getting the hang of it. I had a habit of pulling my drives slightly left, but I’ve done some work on it and we seem to be getting there. My putting’s also improved, so hopefully I can put it all together over the weekend.”
The more experienced Coles is well used to being in contention going into the weekend, having won in Morocco earlier in the season and finished runner-up on two other occasions.
He said: “I still feel I can play better. I putted well today and yesterday, but other parts of my game aren’t quite at 100%. But I suppose if I can still score well without playing at my absolute best, that has to be a good sign. Sometimes you play well and don’t score, then other times you’re not at your best but the puts drop. That’s the beauty of golf I suppose. Over the course of four rounds, it evens itself out and the best man usually wins. I just hope it can be me.”
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
135 Å Nilsson (Swe) 67 68,
136 N Colsaerts (Bel) 70 66, J Caldwell (Nir) 68 68,
137 R Coles (Eng) 68 69,
138 R Davies (Wal) 71 67, G Hutcheon (Sco) 68 70,
139 P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 69, A Mellor (Eng) 72 67, P Whiteford (Sco) 71 68, P Kaensche (Nor) 68 71,
140 M McGeady (Irl) 74 66, P Baker (Eng) 68 72, C Moriarty (Irl) 70 70, M Haastrup (Den) 70 70, F Calmels (Fra) 72 68
141 A Marshall (Eng) 70 71, M Tullo (Chi) 76 65, J Hepworth (Eng) 70 71, J Etulain (Arg) 68 73, 142 C Carranza (Arg) 70 72, S Walker (Eng) 72 70, M Kramer (Ger) 68 74, D Ulrich (Sui) 72 70, R Karlberg (Swe) 72 70, M Curtain (Aus) 73 69
143 C Monasterio (Arg) 68 75, B Mason (Eng) 72 71, R Harris (Eng) 73 70, E Ramsay (Sco) 74 69, D Küpper (Ger) 72 71, N Lemke (Swe) 72 71, A Haindl (RSA) 71 72, G Woodman (Eng) 69 74, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 73, J Olesen (Den) 71 72, M Durcan (am) (Irl) 75 68
144 M Millar (Aus) 73 71, S Surry (Eng) 75 69, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 73 71, S Thornton (Irl) 74 70, J Morrison (Eng) 72 72, J Parry (Eng) 71 73, M Quiros (Esp) 75 69, C Russo (Fra) 73 71
145 J Quesne (Fra) 71 74, T Rice (Irl) 72 73, J Moul (Eng) 77 68, R Treis (Ger) 72 73, M Rodriguez (Arg) 70 75, G Clark (Eng) 71 74, R Kilpatrick (Nir) 76 69, N Turner (Irl) 72 73, A Hansen (Den) 73 72, C McNamara (Irl) 71 74, L De Jager (RSA) 74 71, D Wardrop (Eng) 74 71, L Kennedy (Eng) 72 73, F Svanberg (Sui) 73 72
146 P Del Grosso (Arg) 73 73, R Santos (Por) 76 70, J Abbate (Arg) 72 74, S Bebb (Wal) 76 70, P Bocian (Swe) 74 72, R Giles (Eng) 73 73, N Fox (Irl) 75 71, M Zions (Aus) 74 72, F Fritsch (Ger) 72 74
MISSED THE CUT
147 M Ruiz (Par) 71 76, D Higgins (Irl) 73 74, C Gane (Eng) 74 73, J Heath (Eng) 70 77, A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 71 76, J Little (Eng) 73 74, S Arnold (Aus) 73 74, D Hewan (RSA) 73 74, C Devlin (Nir) 72 75, S Robinson (Eng) 76 71, J Kehoe (Irl) 76 71, S Manley (Wal) 76 71, J Billot (Fra) 72 75, A McArthur (Sco) 72 75, A Butterfield (Eng) 73 74, R Steele (Eng) 70 77
148 C Phadungsil (Tha) 75 73, D Denison (Eng) 74 74, J Mommo (Fin) 72 76, P O'Hanlon (Irl) 76 72, P Relecom (Bel) 73 75, T Whitehouse (Eng) 72 76, A Bernadet (Fra) 74 74, J McCreadie (Sco) 77 71, P Streeter (Eng) 73 75
149 J Levermore (Eng) 76 73, R McEvoy (Eng) 78 71, T Ferreira (RSA) 72 77, L Westerberg (Swe) 76 73, S Grant (Irl) 75 74, J Boerdonk (Ned) 74 75, G Murray (Sco) 74 75, B Evans (Eng) 77 72, J McLeary (Sco) 71 78, A Grenier (Fra) 76 73, M Ramsdale (Eng) 76 73
150 G Shaw (Nir) 74 76, G Houston (Wal) 75 75, J Ruth (Eng) 73 77, C Aguilar (Esp) 72 78, L Brovold (Nor) 76 74, D Nouailhac (Fra) 74 76, K Jorgensen (Den) 71 79, S Henry (Sco) 72 78, M McDermott (Irl) 74 76, J Kelly (Irl) 74 76, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 76 74, M Campbell (Irl) 75 75, P O'Keeffe (Irl) 79 71, A Murray (Irl) 74 76, A Willey (Eng) 77 73
151 A Tampion (Aus) 78 73, J Sköld (Swe) 78 73, T Mullally (Irl) 77 74, K Sullivan (Wal) 72 79, L Saltman (Sco) 73 78, S Jeppesen (Swe) 75 76, D Griffiths (Eng) 70 81, M Hooper (Eng) 75 76
152 M Laskey (Wal) 77 75, S Juul (Den) 72 80, L James (Eng) 73 79, D Marmion (Eng) 75 77, V Riu (Fra) 79 73, A Bruschi (Ita) 79 73, K Webber (Aus) 73 79, T Cruz (Por) 71 81, C Selfridge (am) (Irl) 75 77
153 K Staunton (Eng) 77 76, P Purhonen (Fin) 78 75, A Oldcorn (Sco) 76 77, A Thorpe (Eng) 80 73
154 A Mörk (Fra) 75 79
155 S Saavedra (Arg) 75 80, M Mackenzie (Eng) 75 80, J Wahlqvist (Swe) 79 76
156 F Praegant (Aut) 79 77, L Bond (Wal) 79 77, J Grillon (Fra) 76 80
157 M Pilkington (Wal) 80 77, D Froreich (Ger) 78 79, P Reavey (am) (Irl) 77 80
159 D Reilly (am) (Irl) 77 82
160 O Suhr (Den) 81 79
Disqualified - M Cort (Eng) 73, M Murphy (Irl) 73, R Gonzalez (Arg) 75.
Retired - M Mills (Eng) 76.
Withdrew - O Floren (Swe) 83.
Labels: CHALLENGE TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Saturday, June 13, 2009
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home