DRUMMOND SHOWS THE BULLDOG SPIRIT TO FINISH HIS ROUND

BENAHAVIS SENIOR MASTERS REPORT FROM NEIL AHERN

European Tour Assistant Press Officer 

Ross Drummond carded for a one under par 70 to finish the second day of the Benahavis Senior Masters in tied ninth spot, but his round was made all the more remarkable considering that he was close to withdrawing, having played all 18 holes with a bad dose of food poisoning.

The tall Scot hadn’t slept at all during the night before his second round and hadn’t eaten anything before taking to the course, but incredibly managed to negotiate the tough La Quinta Golf and Country Club course under par to sit six shots off the lead once again set by Gary Wolstenholme.

“I felt absolutely terrible,” exhaled the Paisley-born player afterwards, “I really don’t know how I did it because I felt so weak and was walking so far behind but I just tried to get around and hopefully I’ll feel better tomorrow.

“I was just trying to keep it slow, trying not to hit it too hard and get it up the fairway so I actually played quite nicely and maintained my position. Hopefully now I can eat something tomorrow and push on.”

Wolstenholme, meanwhile, won the battle after a two under par second round of 69 maintained his lead at the Benahavis Senior Masters in Spain, but is yet to win the “War of the Roses” as five of his English compatriots sit waiting to pounce. 

The 51 year old consolidated his first round overnight lead after he followed up a steady level par front nine with birdies at the 14^th, 15^th and 17^th to set the pace at eight under for the tournament and enter the final day with high hopes of a first win of the 2011 season.

He won’t sleep too easy tonight though, as a plethora of England’s top senior players lie ominously in waiting ahead of the final day in the south of Spain, with five St George’s Crosses directly behind him on the leaderboard.The 2009 Benahavis Senior Masters champion and the man with a record 24 European Senior Tour wins, Carl Mason, sits just a shot behind in second place, while 18-time European Tour winner and Ryder Cup veteran Mark James is a shot further back alongside two-time European Tour winner Andrew Sherborne in tied third place.Gordon Brand Jnr bettered his first round by four shots after a two under par 69 left him in tied 20^th while Fraser Mann (75) was tied 31^st and Andrew Oldcorn (74) was tied 49^th.

SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD

 Par 142 (2x71)

 134 G Wolstenholme (Eng) 65 69,

135 C Mason (Eng) 70 65,

136 A Sherborne (Eng) 71 65, M James (Eng) 68 68,

138 C Rocca (Ita) 70 68, P Mitchell (Eng) 71 67, B Cameron (Eng) 70 68,

139 B Lane (Eng) 70 69,

140 M Piñero (Esp) 74 66, R Drummond (Sco) 70 70, A Franco (Par) 70 70, M Mouland (Wal) 67 73, J Gould (Eng) 66 74,

141 D Johnson (USA) 70 71, G Brand (Eng) 69 72, J Harrison (Eng) 69 72, T Thelen (USA) 69 72, D O'Sullivan (Irl) 70 71, A Sowa (Arg) 66 75,

142 B Lincoln (RSA) 69 73, E Rodriguez (Esp) 69 73, G Brand Jnr (Sco) 73 69, P Fowler (Aus) 72 70, S Van Vuuren (RSA) 70 72, M Belsham (Eng) 71 71,

143 C Williams (RSA) 73 70, T Johnstone (Zim) 71 72, J Bruner (USA) 73 70, J Stansberry (USA) 73 70, T Charnley (Eng) 72 71,

144 L Carbonetti (Arg) 74 70, T Giedeon (Ger) 73 71, G Ryall (Eng) 72 72, F Mann (Sco) 69 75, B Smit (RSA) 72 72,

145 J Cañizares (Esp) 70 75, D Durnian (Eng) 71 74, K Spurgeon (Eng) 77 68, P Dahlberg (Swe) 74 71, G Banister (Aus) 74 71, R Chapman (Eng) 72 73,

146 G Manson (Aut) 71 75, J Rivero (Esp) 76 70,

147 M Moreno (Esp) 72 75, D Cambridge (Jam) 75 72,

148 J Sallat (Fra) 74 74, D Hospital (Esp) 70 78, C Grenier (Aut) 75 73,

149 B Lendzion (USA) 76 73, J Hall (Eng) 75 74, J Davila (Esp) 69 80, J Quiros (Esp) 71 78, D Smyth (Irl) 74 75, A Oldcorn (Sco) 75 74, J Rhodes (Eng) 73 76,

150 J Heggarty (Nir) 73 77,

151 B Longmuir (Sco) 73 78, G Ralph (Eng) 75 76, F Illouz (Fra) 73 78, S Bennett (Eng) 73 78,

152 M Gray (Sco) 75 77, N Job (Eng) 76 76, P Allan (Eng) 75 77,

153 A Garrido (Esp) 78 75, H Carbonetti (Arg) 79 74,

154 S Ruiz (Esp) 78 76,

155 J Stuart (USA) 76 79, T Horton (Eng) 81 74, S Cipa (Eng) 78 77,

156 M Bembridge (Eng) 78 78, T Burgoyne (Sco) 77 79,

157 J Chillas (Sco) 82 75,

159 V Garcia (Esp) 82 77,

** B Queipo De Llano (am) (Esp) RT  0,