EUROPEAN TOUR REPORT, SCORES
Bjorn and Del Moral share two-stroke lead in Portugal
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Thomas Bjorn and Carlos Del Moral signed for matching rounds of 65 to share a two shot lead at the top of the Estoril Open de Portugal leaderboard today at the Penha Longa course.
Ryder Cup Dane Bjorn played some tremendous golf as he recorded eight birdies to race to 13 under with a hole to play.
But the World Number 193 - who was in contention for last week's Celtic Manor Wales Open before a disappointing final round - bogeyed the par five last after finding trouble from the tee to join Del Moral on 12 under at halfway.
After driving right into the trees, Bjorn could only find rough with his second and his third flew the green.
He had an eight foot putt for an up-and-down par but when that slid by the Spaniard was left with a well-deserved share of the lead.
"I hit every fairway until the last hole, and I only missed one green," said Bjorn. "I felt I was really steady and my golf felt easy for once, which made a nice change. It was a shame about the last, but I've still got to be happy about a 65. You normally have at least one bad hole in a round of golf. It's just a shame it had to be the last. But I like the course. I seem to find a nice rhythm round here."
The 24 year old Del Moral completed a brilliant back nine 31 at Penha Longa Golf Club and put his superb display down to an improved fitness regime.
"I've started working a lot more on my fitness levels away from the course. I've started training hard, because that's what all the top players do," said Del Moral - seeking a maiden European Tour win.
"I feel much better out on the course now. It's had an effect much sooner than I'd thought, but I'm very happy. Hopefully it can continue having the same effect for the next two days and the rest of the season.
"I'm going to go for a run on the beach this afternoon, and hopefully I'll lose a few more pounds and go even lower tomorrow!"
The Spaniard was in doubt as to which part of his game sparked that stunning run on the back nine.
"I've played beautifully these last two days, and putted very well. I made a lot of clutch putts, particularly on the back nine," he added.
"So my putting definitely made the difference between a good round and a great round today."
Three players share third on ten under - Ireland's overnight leader Damien McGrane joined by the English duo of Steve Webster and Robert Rock.
Webster's last European Tour title came on Portuguese soil at the 2007 Portugal Masters and the 35 year old turned in 34 after starting at the tenth before registering a hat-trick of birdies from the first.
"I've not played brilliantly this year so far, but I've brought a new putter with me this week and I seem to have found something with my putting stroke," said Webster.
"So it was nice to make a few 20 footers for a change, instead of just hitting it close all the time. Six birdies today tells its own story."
Irishman McGrane looked on course to set the clubhouse target for the second day running as he advanced to 11 under for the week with six to play.
But the former Volvo China Open winner came unstuck at the 434 yard fourth when his wayward approach finished on the root of a tree and forced him to play away from the flag, leading to a double bogey six before a birdie at the ninth, his last, repaired some of the damage.
Coles mixed eight birdies with two bogeys in his 66 as the Challenge Tour graduate looks for a second top five finish of the season.
"Before this week, I haven't been hitting the ball well," admitted Coles."I've been chipping poorly and putting terribly. So if you can't put it close, I suppose you can't just blame poor putting for high scores. But over the last couple of days, I've kept it pretty straight, and managed to create plenty of chances, a few of which I've taken."
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
132 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 67 65, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 67 65
134 Robert Coles 68 66, Damien McGrane 64 70, Steve Webster 67 67
135 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 69 66, Robert Rock 68 67, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 67 68, Andrew Coltart 68 67
136 Andrew Tampion (Aus) 66 70, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 65 71, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 68 68, Richard Green (Aus) 67 69, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 67, Bradley Dredge 67 69
137 John Parry 67 70, Stuart Manley 65 72, Luke Goddard 64 73
138 Gary Lockerbie 69 69, Chris Wood 69 69, Phillip Archer 71 67, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 70 68
139 Richard Bland 66 73, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 70, Marco Ruiz (Par) 68 71, Tano Goya (Arg) 69 70, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 72
140 Marco Soffietti (Ita) 69 71, Gary Murphy 71 69, Andrew McArthur 71 69, Stephan Gross Jnr (Ger) 70 70, Ryan Blaum (USA) 71 69, Tom Whitehouse 72 68, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 71, Scott Drummond 69 71
141 Christian Nilsson (Swe) 70 71, Jan Are Larsen (Nor) 72 69, Ake Nilsson (Rsa) 70 71, Paul Waring 73 68, Soren Juul (Den) 72 69, Fredrik Henge (Swe) 68 73, Mark Brown (Nzl) 71 70, Oliver Fisher 71 70, Andre Bossert (Swi) 71 70, Louis Moolman (Rsa) 69 72, Alastair Forsyth 73 68, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 70, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 74 67
142 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 72 70, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 67 75, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 70 72, Liam Bond 70 72, David Lynn 69 73, Darren Clarke 75 67, Steven O'Hara 76 66, Kenneth Ferrie 70 72, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 71 71, Iain Pyman 68 74, Sam Little 70 72, Miles Tunnicliff 72 70
143 Chris Gane 71 72, Jamie Little 72 71, Benn Barham 74 69, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 75 68, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 71 72, Johan Axgren (Swe) 72 71, Graeme Storm 74 69, Scott Hend (Aus) 73 70, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 75 68, Markus Brier (Aut) 73 70, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 77 66, Paul Eales 74 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 77 66, James Mclean (Aus) 68 75, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 74 69, Keith Horne (Rsa) 72 71, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 72 71, Van Phillips 70 73
MISSED THE CUT
144 Anton Haig (Rsa) 70 74, Daniel Brooks 71 73, Hugo Santos (Por) 70 74, Simon Lilly (Gb) 73 71, Paul Broadhurst 74 70, Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 72 72, Antonio Dantas (Por) 72 72, Marc Warren 72 72, James Ruth 75 69, Mark Laskey 74 70, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 71 73, Simon Thornton 73 71, Philip Golding 73 71
145 Sam Hutsby 71 74, Sion E Bebb 71 74, Peter Baker 72 73, Ricardo Santos (Por) 73 72, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 71 74
146 Chris Gaunt (Aus) 74 72, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 72 74, David Horsey 71 75, Bjorn Pettersson (Swe) 74 72, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 74 72, James Ruebotham 71 75, Ghislain Rosier (Fra) 72 74, Andrew Marshall 71 75, David Vanegas (Col) 74 72, Santiago Luna (Spa) 72 74, Alessio Bruschi (Ita) 74 72
147 Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 76 71, Nathan Smith (USA) 70 77, Dale Whitnell 73 74, Phillip Price 73 74, Johan Lopez Lazzaro (Fra) 74 73
148 Michiel Bothma (Rsa) 73 75, Gary Clark 74 74, Goncalo Pinto (Por) 72 76
149 Ricardo Melo Gouveia (Por) 74 75, Henrique Paulino (Por) 76 73, Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 72 77
150 David Carter 77 73, David Hewan (Rsa) 72 78
151 Tiago Cruz (Por) 76 75, Carl Suneson (Spa) 74 77, Andrew Butterfield 78 73, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 76 75
152 Dominique Nouailhac (Fra) 76 76, Miguel Gasper (Por) 76 76
153 Nuno Campino (Por) 72 81
155 Steen Ottosen (Den) 77 78
156 Daniel Wardrop 81 75
158 Antonio Rosado (Por) 82 76
159 Antonio Sobrinho (Por) 77 82
160 Joao Malagueira (Por) 75 85
161 Mark Peddard 80 81
163 Nelson Cavalheiro (Por) 79 84
164 Tomas Silva (Por) 83 81
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Thomas Bjorn and Carlos Del Moral signed for matching rounds of 65 to share a two shot lead at the top of the Estoril Open de Portugal leaderboard today at the Penha Longa course.
Ryder Cup Dane Bjorn played some tremendous golf as he recorded eight birdies to race to 13 under with a hole to play.
But the World Number 193 - who was in contention for last week's Celtic Manor Wales Open before a disappointing final round - bogeyed the par five last after finding trouble from the tee to join Del Moral on 12 under at halfway.
After driving right into the trees, Bjorn could only find rough with his second and his third flew the green.
He had an eight foot putt for an up-and-down par but when that slid by the Spaniard was left with a well-deserved share of the lead.
"I hit every fairway until the last hole, and I only missed one green," said Bjorn. "I felt I was really steady and my golf felt easy for once, which made a nice change. It was a shame about the last, but I've still got to be happy about a 65. You normally have at least one bad hole in a round of golf. It's just a shame it had to be the last. But I like the course. I seem to find a nice rhythm round here."
The 24 year old Del Moral completed a brilliant back nine 31 at Penha Longa Golf Club and put his superb display down to an improved fitness regime.
"I've started working a lot more on my fitness levels away from the course. I've started training hard, because that's what all the top players do," said Del Moral - seeking a maiden European Tour win.
"I feel much better out on the course now. It's had an effect much sooner than I'd thought, but I'm very happy. Hopefully it can continue having the same effect for the next two days and the rest of the season.
"I'm going to go for a run on the beach this afternoon, and hopefully I'll lose a few more pounds and go even lower tomorrow!"
The Spaniard was in doubt as to which part of his game sparked that stunning run on the back nine.
"I've played beautifully these last two days, and putted very well. I made a lot of clutch putts, particularly on the back nine," he added.
"So my putting definitely made the difference between a good round and a great round today."
Three players share third on ten under - Ireland's overnight leader Damien McGrane joined by the English duo of Steve Webster and Robert Rock.
Webster's last European Tour title came on Portuguese soil at the 2007 Portugal Masters and the 35 year old turned in 34 after starting at the tenth before registering a hat-trick of birdies from the first.
"I've not played brilliantly this year so far, but I've brought a new putter with me this week and I seem to have found something with my putting stroke," said Webster.
"So it was nice to make a few 20 footers for a change, instead of just hitting it close all the time. Six birdies today tells its own story."
Irishman McGrane looked on course to set the clubhouse target for the second day running as he advanced to 11 under for the week with six to play.
But the former Volvo China Open winner came unstuck at the 434 yard fourth when his wayward approach finished on the root of a tree and forced him to play away from the flag, leading to a double bogey six before a birdie at the ninth, his last, repaired some of the damage.
Coles mixed eight birdies with two bogeys in his 66 as the Challenge Tour graduate looks for a second top five finish of the season.
"Before this week, I haven't been hitting the ball well," admitted Coles."I've been chipping poorly and putting terribly. So if you can't put it close, I suppose you can't just blame poor putting for high scores. But over the last couple of days, I've kept it pretty straight, and managed to create plenty of chances, a few of which I've taken."
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
132 Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 67 65, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 67 65
134 Robert Coles 68 66, Damien McGrane 64 70, Steve Webster 67 67
135 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 69 66, Robert Rock 68 67, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 67 68, Andrew Coltart 68 67
136 Andrew Tampion (Aus) 66 70, Eirik Tage Johansen (Nor) 65 71, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 68 68, Richard Green (Aus) 67 69, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 67, Bradley Dredge 67 69
137 John Parry 67 70, Stuart Manley 65 72, Luke Goddard 64 73
138 Gary Lockerbie 69 69, Chris Wood 69 69, Phillip Archer 71 67, Clodomiro Carranza (Arg) 70 68
139 Richard Bland 66 73, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 69 70, Marco Ruiz (Par) 68 71, Tano Goya (Arg) 69 70, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 67 72
140 Marco Soffietti (Ita) 69 71, Gary Murphy 71 69, Andrew McArthur 71 69, Stephan Gross Jnr (Ger) 70 70, Ryan Blaum (USA) 71 69, Tom Whitehouse 72 68, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 69 71, Scott Drummond 69 71
141 Christian Nilsson (Swe) 70 71, Jan Are Larsen (Nor) 72 69, Ake Nilsson (Rsa) 70 71, Paul Waring 73 68, Soren Juul (Den) 72 69, Fredrik Henge (Swe) 68 73, Mark Brown (Nzl) 71 70, Oliver Fisher 71 70, Andre Bossert (Swi) 71 70, Louis Moolman (Rsa) 69 72, Alastair Forsyth 73 68, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 71 70, Benjamin Hebert (Fra) 74 67
142 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 72 70, Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 67 75, Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 70 72, Liam Bond 70 72, David Lynn 69 73, Darren Clarke 75 67, Steven O'Hara 76 66, Kenneth Ferrie 70 72, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 71 71, Iain Pyman 68 74, Sam Little 70 72, Miles Tunnicliff 72 70
143 Chris Gane 71 72, Jamie Little 72 71, Benn Barham 74 69, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 75 68, Klas Eriksson (Swe) 71 72, Johan Axgren (Swe) 72 71, Graeme Storm 74 69, Scott Hend (Aus) 73 70, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 75 68, Markus Brier (Aut) 73 70, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 77 66, Paul Eales 74 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 77 66, James Mclean (Aus) 68 75, Julien Guerrier (Fra) 74 69, Keith Horne (Rsa) 72 71, Gaganjeet Bhullar (Ind) 72 71, Van Phillips 70 73
MISSED THE CUT
144 Anton Haig (Rsa) 70 74, Daniel Brooks 71 73, Hugo Santos (Por) 70 74, Simon Lilly (Gb) 73 71, Paul Broadhurst 74 70, Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 72 72, Antonio Dantas (Por) 72 72, Marc Warren 72 72, James Ruth 75 69, Mark Laskey 74 70, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 71 73, Simon Thornton 73 71, Philip Golding 73 71
145 Sam Hutsby 71 74, Sion E Bebb 71 74, Peter Baker 72 73, Ricardo Santos (Por) 73 72, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 71 74
146 Chris Gaunt (Aus) 74 72, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 72 74, David Horsey 71 75, Bjorn Pettersson (Swe) 74 72, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 74 72, James Ruebotham 71 75, Ghislain Rosier (Fra) 72 74, Andrew Marshall 71 75, David Vanegas (Col) 74 72, Santiago Luna (Spa) 72 74, Alessio Bruschi (Ita) 74 72
147 Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 76 71, Nathan Smith (USA) 70 77, Dale Whitnell 73 74, Phillip Price 73 74, Johan Lopez Lazzaro (Fra) 74 73
148 Michiel Bothma (Rsa) 73 75, Gary Clark 74 74, Goncalo Pinto (Por) 72 76
149 Ricardo Melo Gouveia (Por) 74 75, Henrique Paulino (Por) 76 73, Cesar Monasterio (Arg) 72 77
150 David Carter 77 73, David Hewan (Rsa) 72 78
151 Tiago Cruz (Por) 76 75, Carl Suneson (Spa) 74 77, Andrew Butterfield 78 73, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 76 75
152 Dominique Nouailhac (Fra) 76 76, Miguel Gasper (Por) 76 76
153 Nuno Campino (Por) 72 81
155 Steen Ottosen (Den) 77 78
156 Daniel Wardrop 81 75
158 Antonio Rosado (Por) 82 76
159 Antonio Sobrinho (Por) 77 82
160 Joao Malagueira (Por) 75 85
161 Mark Peddard 80 81
163 Nelson Cavalheiro (Por) 79 84
164 Tomas Silva (Por) 83 81
Labels: EUROPEAN TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, June 11, 2010
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