Friday, November 04, 2011

CRAIG LEE OPTIMISTIC BUT CHRIS DOAK NOW A LONG SHOT


CRAIG LEE in action today. Image by courtesy of Phil Inglis ©

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT
FROM NEIL AHERN, Puglia, Italy
nahern@europeantour.com
Craig Lee took another step towards a card on The 2012 European Tour International Schedule after a one under par 70 left him in tied 17th place after the third round of the Apulia San Domenico Grand Final.
For the third time in three rounds, the Stirling man started with bogey on the difficult first hole before following up with another on the second, but he battled back gamely with birdies on the third and fifth holes before gaining further shots at the 11th and 13th.
It all went slightly awry for the 34 year old when he found water at the par four 14th for a double-bogey, but he followed that up immediately with a birdie at the 15th to finish the day on eight under par for the tournament.
“I suppose it’s going to plan in the sense that I’m not going backwards, but it was a very frustrating day on the golf course,” conceded Lee, who sat in 11th place in the projected Rankings after round three.
“One under is OK, but it’s disappointing because I’m actually hitting it quite nicely. But when you only miss two greens all day, you don’t expect to shoot one under. So it’s a bit frustrating, but we’ll plod away and see what happens.
“It would have been nice to move forward a bit, but I’m still there or thereabouts. I’ll be relying on some strong wind tomorrow and it may have to be down to some of the other players’ fortunes or misfortunes, but it would have been nice to do it on my own.
“I don’t think I’ll be attacking tomorrow, I think if the wind picks up like it’s supposed to, it won’t be a birdie fest, so I don’t think I’ll have to attack too much. I just need to try not to hit it in the water next time out!”
Chris Doak’s hopes of breaking into the top 20 and gaining a European Tour card for next year look to be receding after he finished the day 11 shots off the lead on six under for the tournament after a level par 71.
The final day is set to be a titanic battle of the young guns, with home hero Andrea Pavan and rising English star Tommy Fleetwood fighting for the right to be crowned the winner of both the season-ending event and the Challenge Tour Rankings.
Pavan, the supremely gifted 22 year old who is sponsored by San Domenico Golf, edged ahead of overnight leader Fleetwood, who understandably struggled to maintain the momentum built up by his sensational round of 61 on day two.
Six birdies in a faultless round of 65 carried Pavan to the head of affairs on 17 under par, one stroke ahead of Fleetwood, who signed for a round of 69.
The 20 year old from Southport, Lancashire, still remains on course to become the youngest winner of the Challenge Tour Rankings, provided he finishes in the top two. But if he were to slip to third place or worse and Pavan prevails, the Roman would follow in the footsteps of his friend and compatriot Edoardo Molinari, winner of the Challenge Tour in 2009.

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