CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT
Tight at the top in Toulouse after
62 by on-the-rise Colsaerts
From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
On a day when it was announced that golf will return to the Olympics in 2016, Nicolas Colsaerts, whose great grandfather represented Belgium in basketball and water polo at the 1920 Games, grabbed a share of the lead at the ALLIANZ Golf Open Grand Toulouse.
A stupendous morning round of 62 – the lowest of a career which has undergone a recent renaissance – moved Colsaerts to 13 under par, level with Argentine starlet Alan Wagner and joint overnight leader Matthew Zions of Australia.
On the same course where he had won the French international boys' championship in 2000, beating a young Italian by the name of Francesco Molinari into second place, Colsaerts carded eight birdies and an eagle at the 17th hole in a flawless round.
The Belgian, who in 2000 became the second youngest player to graduate onto The European Tour through the Qualifying School, is bidding to capture his third Challenge Tour title of a remarkable campaign, having already won the SK Golf Challenge and the Dutch Futures.
With a return to The European Tour already assured next year – he currently sits fourth in the Rankings with earnings of €99,630 – Colsaerts can afford to relax and enjoy the remaining three events.
And the 27 year old, who did not even have a Challenge Tour category at the start of this season after a wretched run of results last year, has already started to plan for his first steps in The Race to Dubai.
He said: “I’m really excited about getting back onto The European Tour – I’ve been counting down the weeks for a while now. At the start of the season, my main goal was just to get into for the Qualifying School Final. But as the season’s gone on, I’ve had to keep setting new goals. Hopefully I’ll be setting some more on Sunday night.”
Zions’ need is perhaps greater, as he currently sits two places outside the top 20 which earn promotion to The European Tour. But the Australian will adopt the tried and tested method of taking one shot at a time in his bid to secure the result he craves.
He said: “It’s never easy to follow up a good round with another one, so I was pleased to go low again. I just tried to forget about yesterday and go out there as if it was the first day of the tournament. If I can keep that attitude over the weekend, I should be ok. I just need to stay nice and free, and forget about everything else. I need to try to stay fresh, physically and mentally. But I’m excited about the weekend.”
At the other end of the experience spectrum is Wagner, who earlier this season followed in the footsteps of his close friend Tano Goya in winning an event co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour and the Tour de las Americas.
Since then he has slowly slipped down the Rankings, but a second success would put him on the threshold of joining Goya on The European Tour.
Wagner, whose round of 64 included a birdie-eagle-birdie finish, said: “It was a very good day. I drove the ball straight and found nearly all the greens with my second shot, so I’m very happy. I had a great finish, which will give me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. I will probably need to play very well over the next two days, but I believe I can do it. I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’ll try to ignore the leaderboards and just focus on my game. If I can do that, I have a good chance of getting back into the top 20 in the Rankings.”
Federico Colombo shares fourth place on 12 under par with Roland Steiner, who matched the Italian’s round of 65.
Finland’s Antti Ahokas, Sweden’s Ake Nilsson, Frenchman Charles-Edouard Russo and Scotland’s Peter Whiteford are all one shot further back on 11 under par.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
131 M Zions (Aus) 64 67, N Colsaerts (Bel) 69 62, A Wagner (Arg) 67 64
132 F Colombo (Ita) 67 65, R Steiner (Aut) 67 65
133 Å Nilsson (Swe) 67 66, A Ahokas (Fin) 64 69, P Whiteford (Sco) 65 68, C Russo (Fra) 64 69
134 A Bossert (Sui) 68 66, L Bond (Wal) 67 67, J Parry (Eng) 66 68, J Quesne (Fra) 68 66, C Monasterio (Arg) 66 68
135 R Coles (Eng) 68 67, A Tampion (Aus) 69 66, M Korhonen (Fin) 68 67, A Snobeck (Fra) 67 68, C Brazillier (Fra) 67 68, J Larsen (Nor) 67 68
136 S Manley (Wal) 65 71, A McArthur (Sco) 65 71, J Clément (Sui) 72 64, J Lima (Por) 68 68, C Günther (Ger) 69 67, G Paddison (Nzl) 67 69, S Walker (Eng) 66 70, J Moul (Eng) 67 69
137 P Baker (Eng) 69 68, A Kaleka (Fra) 68 69, R Muntz (Ned) 67 70, O Floren (Swe) 70 67, M Wiegele (Aut) 65 72, J Guerrier (Fra) 69 68, G Boyd (Eng) 68 69, B Hebert (Fra) 68 69, G Molteni (Ita) 69 68, C Suneson (Esp) 70 67, B Teilleria (Fra) 69 68
138 F Fritsch (Ger) 65 73, R McEvoy (Eng) 67 71, M Reale (Ita) 66 72, J Morrison (Eng) 69 69, A Butterfield (Eng) 67 71, B Pettersson (Swe) 69 69, S Davis (Eng) 69 69, A Hansen (Den) 68 70, N Meitinger (Ger) 68 70, E Moreul (Fra) 67 71, M Tullo (Chi) 64 74, M Haastrup (Den) 67 71, L James (Eng) 70 68, V Dubuisson (am) (Fra) 69 69
139 D Nouailhac (Fra) 69 70, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 70, S Jeppesen (Swe) 69 70, B Mason (Eng) 70 69, M Higley (Eng) 70 69, J Caldwell (Nir) 67 72, C Menut (Fra) 69 70, P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 69, F Calmels (Fra) 67 72, I Pyman (Eng) 71 68, S Bebb (Wal) 65 74, S Thornton (Irl) 71 68, R Saxton (Ned) 67 72
MISSED THE CUT
140 M McGeady (Irl) 69 71, J Grillon (Fra) 72 68, F Schoettel (Fra) 70 70, R Kakko (Fin) 69 71, S Delagrange (Fra) 71 69, R Santos (Por) 69 71
141 J Remesy (Fra) 70 71, J Billot (Fra) 70 71, J Colomo (Esp) 72 69, N Smith (USA) 71 70, C Carranza (Arg) 70 71, P Relecom (Bel) 73 68, L Gagli (Ita) 70 71, M Cobo Arrayas (Esp) 71 70, M Hill (Fra) 70 71, C Gane (Eng) 68 73
142 A Marshall (Eng) 66 76, O David (Fra) 70 72, B Lecuona (Fra) 71 71, G Rosier (Fra) 72 70, S Robinson (Eng) 69 73, J Sjöholm (Swe) 67 75, N Joakimides (Fra) 71 71, S Jamieson (Sco) 71 71, G Gresse (Bel) 71 71
143 P Rowe (Eng) 72 71, P Golding (Eng) 72 71, J Arruti (Esp) 73 70, T Feyrsinger (Aut) 71 72, F Praegant (Aut) 71 72, B Wiesberger (Aut) 74 69, G Houston (Wal) 72 71, R Russell (Sco) 73 70
144 E Ramsay (Sco) 73 71, B Evans (Eng) 75 69, R De Sousa (Sui) 71 73, R Sabarros (Fra) 70 74, C Farrelly (Eng) 72 72
145 V Riu (Fra) 70 75, J McLeary (Sco) 69 76, R Eyraud (Fra) 72 73, A Willey (Eng) 72 73
146 T Whitehouse (Eng) 72 74, M Mauret (Fra) 74 72, A Bernadet (Fra) 75 71
147 A Högberg (Swe) 69 78, J Forestier (Fra) 75 72, N Beaufils (Fra) 72 75
148 A Grenier (Fra) 69 79, J Van Hauwe (Fra) 71 77, N Pamard (Fra) 74 74
151 D Küpper (Ger) 77 74
153 A Mandonnet (Fra) 72 81,
163 T Benslimane (Mar) 81 82,
62 by on-the-rise Colsaerts
From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
On a day when it was announced that golf will return to the Olympics in 2016, Nicolas Colsaerts, whose great grandfather represented Belgium in basketball and water polo at the 1920 Games, grabbed a share of the lead at the ALLIANZ Golf Open Grand Toulouse.
A stupendous morning round of 62 – the lowest of a career which has undergone a recent renaissance – moved Colsaerts to 13 under par, level with Argentine starlet Alan Wagner and joint overnight leader Matthew Zions of Australia.
On the same course where he had won the French international boys' championship in 2000, beating a young Italian by the name of Francesco Molinari into second place, Colsaerts carded eight birdies and an eagle at the 17th hole in a flawless round.
The Belgian, who in 2000 became the second youngest player to graduate onto The European Tour through the Qualifying School, is bidding to capture his third Challenge Tour title of a remarkable campaign, having already won the SK Golf Challenge and the Dutch Futures.
With a return to The European Tour already assured next year – he currently sits fourth in the Rankings with earnings of €99,630 – Colsaerts can afford to relax and enjoy the remaining three events.
And the 27 year old, who did not even have a Challenge Tour category at the start of this season after a wretched run of results last year, has already started to plan for his first steps in The Race to Dubai.
He said: “I’m really excited about getting back onto The European Tour – I’ve been counting down the weeks for a while now. At the start of the season, my main goal was just to get into for the Qualifying School Final. But as the season’s gone on, I’ve had to keep setting new goals. Hopefully I’ll be setting some more on Sunday night.”
Zions’ need is perhaps greater, as he currently sits two places outside the top 20 which earn promotion to The European Tour. But the Australian will adopt the tried and tested method of taking one shot at a time in his bid to secure the result he craves.
He said: “It’s never easy to follow up a good round with another one, so I was pleased to go low again. I just tried to forget about yesterday and go out there as if it was the first day of the tournament. If I can keep that attitude over the weekend, I should be ok. I just need to stay nice and free, and forget about everything else. I need to try to stay fresh, physically and mentally. But I’m excited about the weekend.”
At the other end of the experience spectrum is Wagner, who earlier this season followed in the footsteps of his close friend Tano Goya in winning an event co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour and the Tour de las Americas.
Since then he has slowly slipped down the Rankings, but a second success would put him on the threshold of joining Goya on The European Tour.
Wagner, whose round of 64 included a birdie-eagle-birdie finish, said: “It was a very good day. I drove the ball straight and found nearly all the greens with my second shot, so I’m very happy. I had a great finish, which will give me a lot of confidence going into tomorrow. I will probably need to play very well over the next two days, but I believe I can do it. I’m looking forward to the weekend. I’ll try to ignore the leaderboards and just focus on my game. If I can do that, I have a good chance of getting back into the top 20 in the Rankings.”
Federico Colombo shares fourth place on 12 under par with Roland Steiner, who matched the Italian’s round of 65.
Finland’s Antti Ahokas, Sweden’s Ake Nilsson, Frenchman Charles-Edouard Russo and Scotland’s Peter Whiteford are all one shot further back on 11 under par.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
131 M Zions (Aus) 64 67, N Colsaerts (Bel) 69 62, A Wagner (Arg) 67 64
132 F Colombo (Ita) 67 65, R Steiner (Aut) 67 65
133 Å Nilsson (Swe) 67 66, A Ahokas (Fin) 64 69, P Whiteford (Sco) 65 68, C Russo (Fra) 64 69
134 A Bossert (Sui) 68 66, L Bond (Wal) 67 67, J Parry (Eng) 66 68, J Quesne (Fra) 68 66, C Monasterio (Arg) 66 68
135 R Coles (Eng) 68 67, A Tampion (Aus) 69 66, M Korhonen (Fin) 68 67, A Snobeck (Fra) 67 68, C Brazillier (Fra) 67 68, J Larsen (Nor) 67 68
136 S Manley (Wal) 65 71, A McArthur (Sco) 65 71, J Clément (Sui) 72 64, J Lima (Por) 68 68, C Günther (Ger) 69 67, G Paddison (Nzl) 67 69, S Walker (Eng) 66 70, J Moul (Eng) 67 69
137 P Baker (Eng) 69 68, A Kaleka (Fra) 68 69, R Muntz (Ned) 67 70, O Floren (Swe) 70 67, M Wiegele (Aut) 65 72, J Guerrier (Fra) 69 68, G Boyd (Eng) 68 69, B Hebert (Fra) 68 69, G Molteni (Ita) 69 68, C Suneson (Esp) 70 67, B Teilleria (Fra) 69 68
138 F Fritsch (Ger) 65 73, R McEvoy (Eng) 67 71, M Reale (Ita) 66 72, J Morrison (Eng) 69 69, A Butterfield (Eng) 67 71, B Pettersson (Swe) 69 69, S Davis (Eng) 69 69, A Hansen (Den) 68 70, N Meitinger (Ger) 68 70, E Moreul (Fra) 67 71, M Tullo (Chi) 64 74, M Haastrup (Den) 67 71, L James (Eng) 70 68, V Dubuisson (am) (Fra) 69 69
139 D Nouailhac (Fra) 69 70, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 69 70, S Jeppesen (Swe) 69 70, B Mason (Eng) 70 69, M Higley (Eng) 70 69, J Caldwell (Nir) 67 72, C Menut (Fra) 69 70, P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 69, F Calmels (Fra) 67 72, I Pyman (Eng) 71 68, S Bebb (Wal) 65 74, S Thornton (Irl) 71 68, R Saxton (Ned) 67 72
MISSED THE CUT
140 M McGeady (Irl) 69 71, J Grillon (Fra) 72 68, F Schoettel (Fra) 70 70, R Kakko (Fin) 69 71, S Delagrange (Fra) 71 69, R Santos (Por) 69 71
141 J Remesy (Fra) 70 71, J Billot (Fra) 70 71, J Colomo (Esp) 72 69, N Smith (USA) 71 70, C Carranza (Arg) 70 71, P Relecom (Bel) 73 68, L Gagli (Ita) 70 71, M Cobo Arrayas (Esp) 71 70, M Hill (Fra) 70 71, C Gane (Eng) 68 73
142 A Marshall (Eng) 66 76, O David (Fra) 70 72, B Lecuona (Fra) 71 71, G Rosier (Fra) 72 70, S Robinson (Eng) 69 73, J Sjöholm (Swe) 67 75, N Joakimides (Fra) 71 71, S Jamieson (Sco) 71 71, G Gresse (Bel) 71 71
143 P Rowe (Eng) 72 71, P Golding (Eng) 72 71, J Arruti (Esp) 73 70, T Feyrsinger (Aut) 71 72, F Praegant (Aut) 71 72, B Wiesberger (Aut) 74 69, G Houston (Wal) 72 71, R Russell (Sco) 73 70
144 E Ramsay (Sco) 73 71, B Evans (Eng) 75 69, R De Sousa (Sui) 71 73, R Sabarros (Fra) 70 74, C Farrelly (Eng) 72 72
145 V Riu (Fra) 70 75, J McLeary (Sco) 69 76, R Eyraud (Fra) 72 73, A Willey (Eng) 72 73
146 T Whitehouse (Eng) 72 74, M Mauret (Fra) 74 72, A Bernadet (Fra) 75 71
147 A Högberg (Swe) 69 78, J Forestier (Fra) 75 72, N Beaufils (Fra) 72 75
148 A Grenier (Fra) 69 79, J Van Hauwe (Fra) 71 77, N Pamard (Fra) 74 74
151 D Küpper (Ger) 77 74
153 A Mandonnet (Fra) 72 81,
163 T Benslimane (Mar) 81 82,
Labels: CHALLENGE TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, October 09, 2009
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