Friday, July 23, 2010

Callum keeps cool and closes gap on Gaunt to just one shot

From Challenge Tour Press Officer Paul Symes
Callum Macaulay took inspiration from Louis Oosthuizen’s Open Championship victory to close the gap on leader Daniel Gaunt of Australia to just one shot at the inaugural English Challenge.
Macaulay, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency,
 was impressed by the calm demeanour of the South African, himself a former Challenge Tour player, and the Scot showed an equally level head to recover from an opening bogey and post a round of 68.
That moved the 26 year old to ten under par, one shot behind Gaunt – who signed for a round of 69 – and one ahead of a group of seven players which includes Macaulay’s compatriots Craig Lee and George Murray.
He said: “I took a lot from watching Louis Oosthuizen last week. He was absolutely awesome to watch – not just his game, which was obviously fantastic, but also the way he managed to stay so calm. He didn’t let anything faze him whatsoever, and quite a few times today I thought of him and told myself to keep calm and stay patient. I hit a few poor shots – even the best players in the world do – but I didn’t let it affect my state of mind. If I can keep doing the same things for the next two days and just stay in the moment, hopefully the rest will take care of itself.”
Macaulay admits to having suffered a hangover from last season, when he lost his playing privileges on The European Tour and missed out on regaining them at the Qualifying School – Final Stage by just one stroke.
But a mid-season rest and a change of equipment brought an upturn in his fortunes, making the outlook a lot brighter for the man from Falkirk.
He said: “The start of the season was just a continuation of the end of last year really, because I felt short of confidence. I wouldn’t really say I felt sorry for myself, as such, but I was just a bit down in the dumps. Then I took two weeks off and changed my equipment, and it seemed to change my luck. It just felt like I was starting afresh, and now I’m gradually getting back to where I want to be. Hopefully I can keep going, and if I keep playing well then I’ve got every chance of getting my card back.
“I definitely feel I’d be much better prepared for The European Tour if – and hopefully when – I do get my card back, because I learnt a lot about myself and my game last year. I threw myself right in at the deep end, having gone straight from amateur golf to getting my card at Q School. So I I’ll be older and hopefully wiser next time.”
England’s leading amateur Tommy Fleetwood is already displaying an old head on young shoulders, having rallied with two late birdies to sign for an up and down round of 69 and take a share of third place on nine under par.
Fleetwood opened with a bogey five, but recovered with four birdies to reach the turn in 33. He gave two shots back on the 12th and 14th holes after finding the trees with his drive, but soon cancelled those out with gains at the 16th and 18th.
He said: “I holed a flop shot on the 18th, which was a great way to finish because I wanted to get to nine under and within two of the lead. It had been a bit of a mixed bag until then, but that made me feel much better. If I can get a bit more consistency and keep the sixes off my card, then I’m confident of giving it a real good go over the weekend. It’s obviously a much bigger stage than I’ve been used to playing on for most of my life, but my clubs and ball don’t know whether it’s a monthly medal or a Challenge Tour event.
“There are definitely plenty of birdies out there, but I think I’ve also proved that this course can trip you up. I’ve made three sixes over the two days, but if I can keep the mistakes to a minimum, then who knows? It’d be great to go to the English Amateur Championship next week as a Challenge Tour champion – that’d certainly give me some bragging rights, because I don’t think too many players in the field would be able to say that!”
Like Fleetwood and Macaulay, Gaunt also dropped a shot on his first hole, but the Australian soon banished any doubts by reeling off four consecutive birdies from the 14th hole. He promptly added another at the second hole after the turn, but dropped a shot at the fourth to come home in 36 for an 11 under par aggregate total.
SCOREBOARD
Par 144 (2x72)
133 D Gaunt (Aus) 64 69.
134 C Macaulay (Sco) 66 68.
135 A Blyth (Aus) 67 68, D Brooks (Eng) 67 68, G Murray (Sco) 67 68, T Olesen (Den) 67 68, C Lee (Sco) 69 66, A Ahokas (Fin) 67 68, T Fleetwood (am) (Eng) 66 69.
136 M Ford (Eng) 70 66, A Velasco (Esp) 66 70, J Campillo (Esp) 68 68, M Cort (Eng) 67 69, C Moriarty (Irl) 69 67, J Busby (Eng) 70 66.
137 G Houston (Wal) 69 68, R Dinwiddie (Eng) 69 68, J Larsen (Nor) 69 68, C Russo (Fra) 69 68, B Evans (Eng) 66 71, D Whitnell (Eng) 68 69, J Heath (Eng) 67 70.
138 B Barham (Eng) 70 68, S Arnold (Aus) 72 66, C Ford (Eng) 70 68, F Colombo (Ita) 73 65, S Manley (Wal) 70 68, S Tiley (Eng) 69 69, E Saltman (Sco) 69 69, M Korhonen (Fin) 69 69, L Gagli (Ita) 69 69,
139 M Quiros (Esp) 68 71, D Wardrop (Eng) 71 68, S Wakefield (Eng) 67 72,
140 L Slattery (Eng) 71 69, A Hansen (Den) 70 70, J Hepworth (Eng) 68 72, F Calmels (Fra) 71 69, E Ramsay (Sco) 72 68, C Brazillier (Fra) 68 72, G Molteni (Ita) 72 68, J Zapata (Arg) 71 69, P Dwyer (Eng) 68 72, G Woodman (Eng) 69 71, J Clément (Sui) 68 72,
141 W Ormsby (Aus) 70 71, G Watremez (Bel) 71 70, F De Vries (Ned) 69 72, A Snobeck (Fra) 70 71, M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 71 70, A Raitt (Eng) 71 70, A Gee (Eng) 74 67, L Westerberg (Swe) 73 68, C Del Moral (Esp) 66 75,
142 K Sullivan (Wal) 71 71, E Dubois (Fra) 68 74, N Sulzer (Sui) 71 71, B Wiesberger (Aut) 71 71, C Smith (Wal) 71 71, N Meitinger (Ger) 72 70, M McGeady (Irl) 71 71, M Higley (Eng) 70 72, A Kaleka (Fra) 71 71, M Laskey (Wal) 70 72, G Davies (Eng) 72 70, B Ritthammer (Ger) 71 71,
MISSED THE CUT
143 G Wolstenholme (Eng) 71 72, A Tadini (Ita) 71 72, A Bruschi (Ita) 71 72, L Jensen (Den) 73 70, J Billot (Fra) 73 70, F Praegant (Aut) 70 73, W Besseling (Ned) 75 68, Z Scotland (Eng) 72 71, S Lewton (Eng) 73 70, J McLeary (Sco) 70 73, G Rosier (Fra) 69 74,
144 S Jamieson (Sco) 71 73, J Garcia (Esp) 73 71, V Riu (Fra) 74 70, A Högberg (Swe) 72 72, A Coltart (Sco) 75 69, N Lemke (Swe) 70 74, M Baldwin (Eng) 73 71, M Bliss (Can) 72 72, L Goddard (Eng) 72 72, J Moul (Eng) 71 73, S Doherty (Eng) 69 75,
145 T Remkes (Ned) 74 71, J Makitalo (Fin) 73 72, A Willey (Eng) 72 73, A Bernadet (Fra) 70 75, O Whiteley (Eng) 71 74, N Cheetham (Eng) 75 70, C Doak (Sco) 73 72, B Mason (Eng) 74 71, B Grace (RSA) 75 70, J Doherty (Sco) 71 74, P Eales (Eng) 73 72, T Whitehouse (Eng) 72 73, C Paisley (am) (Eng) 71 74,
146 S Gray (Sco) 75 71, T Stewart (Aus) 74 72, A Wagner (Arg) 73 73, D Nouailhac (Fra) 72 74, S Walker (Eng) 71 75, B Chapellan (Fra) 72 74, J Caldwell (Nir) 72 74, D Ulrich (Sui) 72 74, I Van Weerelt (Ned) 72 74, P Golding (Eng) 72 74, J McLean (Aus) 74 72,
147 N Bruzelius (Swe) 74 73, R Kind (Ned) 74 73, G Dear (Sco) 69 78, J Xanthopoulos (Fra) 72 75, L Saltman (Sco) 75 72, S Archibald (Eng) 71 76, S Surry (Eng) 79 68, S Lilly (Eng) 74 73, J Roos (RSA) 71 76, P Oriol (Esp) 73 74, J Ruebotham (Eng) 76 71, L James (Eng) 73 74, H Bacher (Aut) 73 74, J Little (Eng) 77 70, B Hemstock (am) (Eng) 74 73,
148 O Floren (Swe) 75 73, A Perrino (Ita) 73 75, S Buhl (Ger) 76 72, L Kennedy (Eng) 75 73, D Hewan (RSA) 76 72, F Keenan (Eng) 73 75, D Denison (Eng) 74 74, M Haines (Eng) 75 73, T Haylock (Eng) 73 75, S Davis (Eng) 70 78,
149 M Lowe (Eng) 74 75, S Whiffin (Eng) 76 73, D Skinns (Eng) 75 74, R Steele (Eng) 74 75, P Kaensche (Nor) 77 72, M Allen (Eng) 75 74, T Dykes (Wal) 73 76, P Purhonen (Fin) 72 77, S Reale (Ita) 71 78,
150 J Colomo (Esp) 72 78, D Griffiths (Eng) 74 76, I Keenan (Eng) 75 75, P Relecom (Bel) 76 74, M Mills (Eng) 76 74,
151 J Hedin (Swe) 79 72, R Harris (Eng) 76 75, A Signor (Ita) 73 78,
155 I Pyman (Eng) 80 75,

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