VANCSIK HEADING FOR FOURTH WIN ON EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR

CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS STAFF

Daniel Vancsik’s chase for a fourth European Challenge Tour title remains on course after the Argentinian consolidated his place at the top of the Fred Olsen Challenge de España leaderboard with a three under par third round of 68.

The 35 year old enters the final day a shot clear of Switzerland’s Martin Rominger on 16 under par having made just one bogey in the opening three days at Tecina Golf in La Gomera, on the Canary Islands.

Following up a six under par opening round of 65 and a seven under par 64, which gave him the overnight lead after the second round, the two time European Tour winner started steadily with six consecutive pars.

His first birdie came at the par five seventh hole when his third shot from the bunker landed within six feet of the pin before the Buenos Aires man holed out to move to one under par for the day. He maintained his composure all the way home and cruised to a two under par back nine thanks to birdies at the 15^th and 16^th holes.

“I felt very comfortable during the whole round,” said Vancsik, whose best season on the Challenge Tour came in 2005, when he finished 15^th in the Rankings. “I hit the ball really well like I did throughout the other rounds, but the difference was that I did not play as well on the greens as I did in the second round.

“The pin positions were difficult today too so I could not have scored much lower. I missed a few relatively easy putts out there but I am happy with the score. I was surprised because I thought the course would be much easier today and the scores much lower. I wasn't holing any putts but I was happy to see I am still leading.

“The strategy for tomorrow is to go out and try to do my best and play aggressively,” he continued. “There is a group of good players right behind me and anything can happen tomorrow. You have to be very precise on the greens on this golf course. That may be the reason why winners of this event have traditionally gone on to gain a European Tour card - it shows they are good on the greens.”

The leader after the opening round at Tecina Golf, Rominger, had a much more eventful round as a five under par 66 moved him to second place outright.

The 33 year old started with a bogey five but soon made amends thanks to a birdie at the par four second hole, which was followed immediately by an eagle three at the third. A bogey at the fifth and a birdie at the seventh meant he reached the turn in two under par and his back nine was a lot more comfortable as three birdies moved him to 15 under for the tournament.

"It was nice,” said Rominger, “I played my best round of the tournament so far today and I could have shot lower. I had plenty of chances but missed some easy putts, including a short one on the 17^th. But you can't make everything and I am happy with a five under par round. I am where I wanted to be. If I shoot another five under round tomorrow and somebody beats me, he will definitely deserve it.”

Spaniard Sebi Garcia was another shot back in third place after five birdies and two bogeys earned the 30 year old a three under par round of 68, keeping him within two shots of the lead on 14 under par.

Eduardo de la Riva of Spain, 16 year old Italian Domenico Geminiani and Englishman Simon Wakefield were tied for fourth spot entering the final round on 13 under par.

THIRD-ROUND TOTALS
Par 213 (3x71)

197 D Vancsik (Arg) 65 64 68

198 M Rominger  (Sui) 63 69 66

199 S Garcia (Esp) 67 64 68

200 S Wakefield (Eng) 69 68 63, D Geminiani (Ita) 65 68 67, E De La Riva  (Esp) 68 63 69

201 J Abbott (Eng) 67 67 67

202 A Levy (Fra) 66 68 68, L Claverie (Esp) 66 65 71, J Legarrea (Esp) 66 67 69

203 A Maestroni  (Ita) 71 68 64, W Ormsby (Aus) 71 66 66, M Lorenzo-Vera  (Fra) 66 66 71

204 F De Vries  (Ned) 69 66 69, A Hortal  (Esp) 70 66 68, D Brooks (Eng) 69 67 68, J Busby (Eng) 66 68 70, S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 65 65 74, S Henry  (Sco) 66 70 68, M Kieffer (Ger) 71 66 67

205 R Echenique (Arg) 67 69 69, J Hansen  (Den) 66 67 72, N Kearney (Irl) 71 65 69, G Dear (Sco) 67 71 67, N Dougherty  (Eng) 68 70 67, M Cryer (Eng) 69 66 70, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 67 70 68,

206 J Bragulat  (Esp) 72 67 67, P Edberg (Swe) 69 69 68, C Brazillier  (Fra) 68 71 67, S Jeppesen  (Swe) 69 66 71, P Oriol (Esp) 68 69 69, M Tullo (Chi) 68 69 69, J Gibb (Eng) 67 70 69,

207 M Ford (Eng) 70 68 69, C Aguilar  (Esp) 68 67 72, B Evans  (Eng) 71 69 67, E Kofstad (Nor) 70 69 68, A Rota (Ita) 71 65 71, J Doherty  (Sco) 67 70 70, P Fendt (Aut) 69 68 70, S Tiley (Eng) 71 69 67, C Monasterio (Arg) 69 68 70,

208 F Delamontagne  (Fra) 73 65 70, R Quiros  (Esp) 70 70 68, C Ford (Eng) 69 68 71, R Steiner (Aut) 68 71 69, L Saltman (Sco) 71 68 69, J Grillon  (Fra) 69 70 69, C Russo (Fra) 69 69 70, A Perrino  (Ita) 71 69 68, M Glauert (Ger) 69 69 70, S Davis (Eng) 71 68 69, C Moriarty (Irl) 69 71 68,

209 C Suneson (Esp) 70 67 72, S Walker (Eng) 71 67 71, F Calmels  (Fra) 71 69 69, O Whiteley (Eng) 68 71 70, B An (Kor) 68 69 72,

210 T Whitehouse  (Eng) 70 68 72, M Delpodio  (Ita) 68 69 73, I Elvira  (Esp) 73 67 70,

211 F Ojeda  (Arg) 71 67 73, C Garcia Simarro (Esp) 69 71 71,

212 B Chapellan (Fra) 73 67 72, G Houston (Wal) 68 67 77,

213 S Benson (Eng) 74 65 74,

215 S Piaget  (Mon) 74 66 75, R Hjelm (Den) 71 69 75,

MISSED THE CUT (140 or better qualified) 

141 N Ravano (Ita) 70 71, M Haines  (Eng) 74 67, K Benz (Sui) 74 67, C Doak (Sco) 72 69, B Etchart  (Esp) 72 69, S Buhl (Ger) 69 72, J Clément  (Sui) 71 70 0, A John (Ger) 73 68, A Tadini (Ita) 70 71, P Archer (Eng) 71 70, G Lockerbie  (Eng) 73 68, A Velasco (Esp) 67 74, D Gaunt (Aus) 72 69, A Parr (Can) 73 68 0, D Ulrich (Sui) 71 70 0,

142 S Pinckney (USA) 69 73 0, A Butterfield (Eng) 70 72 0, P Del Grosso  (Arg) 75 67 0, N Vanhootegem (Bel) 70 72 0, B Parker  (Eng) 72 70 0, A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 72 70 0, S Bebb (Wal) 73 69 0, L Goddard  (Eng) 69 73 0, S Kim (Kor) 72 70 0, L Jensen (Den) 69 73 0,

143 M Laskey  (Wal) 72 71 0, P Dwyer (Eng) 71 72 0, N Meitinger  (Ger) 72 71 0, D Lokke (Den) 70 73, M Southgate  (Eng) 72 71 0, J Palmer (Eng) 71 72 0, C Macaulay  (Sco) 74 69, J Mommo  (Fin) 71 72 0, P Bech (Esp) 73 70 0,

144 D Küpper (Ger) 70 74, V Riu  (Fra) 75 69 0, J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 77 67 0, C Rodiles (Esp) 74 70, P Relecom  (Bel) 74 70 0, S Grant  (Irl) 75 69 0,

145 A Tampion  (Aus) 72 73, J Kaske (Fin) 73 72 0, A Knappe (Ger) 73 72 0, M Crespi (Ita) 73 72

146 N Bertasio (Ita) 74 72, A Bossert (Sui) 73 73 0, J Camargo (Esp) 67 79 0, E Johansen  (Nor) 75 71, T Baek (Kor) 74 72 0, I Sanchez-Palencia  (Esp) 75 71 0, X Poncelet  (Fra) 75 71, L Richard (Bel) 69 77 0, T Ferreira  (RSA) 74 72 0, M Higley (Eng) 75 71, C Hanson (Eng) 75 71 0,

147 J Barnes (Eng) 72 75, J McLeary  (Sco) 75 72

148 R De Sousa (Sui) 71 77

149 G Clark (Eng) 77 72, R Schneider (Fra) 71 78, F Keenan  (Eng) 73 76, J Ferraby (Eng) 74 75