EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT
From NEIL AHERN
Chris
Doak stormed into contention for a second
successive European Challenge
Tour title after the
Greenock man carded a six under par second round
of 66 to move to within three shots of the
lead at the
D+D Real Czech Challenge Open.
Doak
claimed his maiden title at last week’s ALLIANZ
Open de Lyon after
beating Dutchman Tim Sluiter in
a play-off and he continued that form
into this week
as he moved to nine under for the
tournament going
into the weekend at Kunetická Hora Golf Club.
Doak
opened with a birdie to instantly build
momentum after an opening round
of 69 left him
five shots off the pace and he gained three more
shots
with birdies at the sixth, seventh and ninth
to
reach the turn in four under par.
He exchanged a birdie and a bogey at the 11th and 12th, respectively, before the 34 year old chipped in from 10 yards for an eagle at the par five 16th hole
to move right into contention.
“It’s
just solid golf really,” said Doak. “I’m much better mentally at the
moment and therefore you become better on the technical side of things
too.
“I've had my new caddy for the last four tournaments and it definitely helps having someone experienced on the bag.
“I
have put last week in the past a little bit but obviously you get a lot
of confidence from winning. I just know I’m playing well right now and I
just have to keep doing the things I’m doing,
the things I did last week.
“When I’m on the range now and on the putting green I’m just keeping the same routine week on week.
“I’ve
been using a new Nike putter since I played in Austria on The European
Tour and I’ve played well ever since I started using it. It’s been a
combination of things. It’s great to win but
there is still a job to be done this season.”
Andreas Hartø stormed into the lead after the second round as a five under par 67 put him in pole position for
a third European Challenge Tour title at Kunetická
Hora Golf Club.
The towering Dane is now eyeing up the Number One spot in the Challenge
Tour Rankings as victory at the €160,000 event, in Drítec close to Prague, would elevate him to the summit ahead of current leader Gary Lockerbie.
Hartø, who won twice in 2010 including a Challenge Tour debut victory as an
amateur at his home tournament the ECCO Tour Championship hosted by
Thomas Björn and Mercedes Benz, has already guaranteed
himself a return to The European Tour next year after an extremely
consistent season thus far.
He has not yet managed that third win, however, but took one step closer
at the Graham Marsh-designed course in the Czech Republic after making a
perfect start with back to back birdies at the opening two holes.
A bogey at the third knocked him back but only briefly as he embarked on a
run of four successive birdies from the sixth hole - bombarding the
pins with all of his birdie putts within 10 feet
- to reach the turn in five under par.
After holing out from the bunker for par at the 11th and a bogey on the 12th hole, Hartø bounced back in typically determined fashion when he knocked his tee shot stone
dead at the par three 13th for a tap-in birdie before five pars on the way home moved him into a one-shot lead on twelve under.
“I
got off to a great start again,” said Hartø. “I played solid and made
some good putts on the front nine but didn’t really get it going on the
back nine and missed a few putts coming in.
“It
could have been better but I will always take a five under round. It
was just good shots all of the way through, especially on that run of
four birdies.”
The
24 year old admitted that he couldn’t but notice his position on the
leaderboard throughout the day and is also aware that he could move to
the top of the Rankings with a win this week,
but is keen to stay focussed and keep his momentum going into the
weekend.
“I
have a hard time not looking at the leaderboard to be honest,” said the
Copenhagen native. “There is still plenty of golf left in this
tournament but it was another good round.
“A
win, and the top of the Rankings, is 36 holes away and we’ll see what
happens when the week is over. All I'm looking for is a good result here
so I can be sure of a top ten (Rankings) finish.
“I'm
playing pretty well and if I can keep on doing that I’ll be alright. It
would be nice to go into next week (the Crowne Plaza Copenhagen
Challenge hosted by Royal Golf Club), at a home tournament,
able to relax a little more.”
Hartø’s
compatriot Anders Schmidt Hansen and Englishman Steven Tiley were a
shot back as they both carded five under par rounds of 67 to share
second place.
Max
Kieffer, meanwhile, called it one of the best rounds of his career as
the Dusseldorf man soared to a stunning course-record 63 to move to
within two shots of the lead.
Since
winning the season-opening Gujarat Kensville Challenge last January,
Kieffer’s season has not quite lived up to early expectations but he has
remained consistent and currently sits in
27th place in the Rankings.
A
big finish to the season is needed, however, if he is to earn a Rookie
season on The European Tour and he gave his 2012 campaign a timely boost
as his nine under par second round launched
him 44 places up the leaderboard into fourth spot.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
132 A Hartø (Den) 65 67
133 A Hansen (Den) 66 67, S Tiley (Eng) 66 67
134 M Kieffer (Ger) 71 63
135 C Doak (Sco) 69 66
136 D Vancsik (Arg) 71 65, M Korhonen (Fin) 66 70, R Dinwiddie (Eng) 64 72, J Hansen (Den) 67 69, R Hjelm (Den) 67 69
137 O Lieser (Cze) 68 69, A Levy (Fra) 66 71, C Russo (Fra) 71 66, G Houston (Wal) 69 68
138 J Parry (Eng) 71 67, M Madsen
(Den) 68 70, B Åkesson (Swe) 70 68, V Riu (Fra) 67 71, A Domingo (Esp)
69 69, A Velasco (Esp) 68 70, A Tadini (Ita) 67 71, R Russell (Sco) 69
69, J Guerrier (Fra) 71 67, D Gaunt (Aus) 71 67
139 R Nechanicky (Cze) 70 69, E Kofstad
(Nor) 70 69, L Jensen (Den) 71 68, S Benson (Eng) 67 72, J McLeary
(Sco) 69 70, R Kakko (Fin) 71 68, G Stal (Fra) 69 70, C Aguilar (Esp)
69 70, P Oriol (Esp) 71 68, C Macaulay (Sco) 69 70
140 A Otaegui (Esp) 69 71, A Bernadet
(Fra) 68 72, M Crespi (Ita) 70 70, B Parker (Eng) 68 72, F McGuirk
(Eng) 70 70, M Nixon (Eng) 71 69, B Chapellan (Fra) 75 65, S Wakefield
(Eng) 72 68
141 A Snobeck (Fra) 72 69, A Engell
(Nor) 69 72, C Aronsen (Nor) 72 69, B Ritthammer (Ger) 68 73, T Hatton
(Eng) 72 69, J Huldahl (Den) 69 72, S Jeppesen (Swe) 67 74, C Suneson
(Esp) 70 71, R Steiner (Aut) 70 71,
142 L Kennedy (Eng) 71 71, M
Southgate (Eng) 69 73, Å Nilsson (Swe) 72 70, S Hutsby (Eng) 71 71, H
Bacher (Aut) 69 73, M Prihoda (Cze) 69 73, A McArthur (Sco) 68 74, D
Brooks (Eng) 71 71, M Tullo (Chi) 73 69, F Mruzek (Cze) 69 73,
MISSED THE CUT
143 C Brazillier (Fra) 70 73, J Garcia
Pinto (Esp) 71 72, E Pepperell (Eng) 73 70, K Benz (Sui) 72 71, P Dwyer
(Eng) 72 71, S Henry (Sco) 72 71, M Ford (Eng) 70 73, A Gee (Eng) 72
71, A Bossert (Sui) 68 75, C Lloyd (Eng) 71 72
144 F Delamontagne (Fra) 71 73, S Buhl (Ger) 72 72, P Archer (Eng) 74 70, F Praegant (Aut) 70 74
145 M Delpodio (Ita) 72 73, M Novy
(Cze) 71 74, O Henningsson (Swe) 71 74, P Uihlein (USA) 72 73, D
Ulrich (Sui) 69 76, R Echenique (Arg) 75 70, S O'Hara (Sco) 72 73, A
Perrino (Ita) 72 73, K Eriksson (Swe) 75 70, T Remkes (Ned) 72
73
146 J Walters (RSA) 73 73, J Busby (Eng) 76 70, S Matus (Cze) 71 75, C Gane (Eng) 75 71, J Zvarik (am) (Svk) 74 72,
147 P Baker (Eng) 75 72, J Senior (Eng) 72 75, C Ford (Eng) 70 77
148 M Haines (Eng) 76 72, J Gibb (Eng) 78 70, V Novak (am) (Cze) 77 71
149 J Krejcar (Cze) 74 75, L Tintera (Cze) 75 74, S Palenik (Svk) 74 75, J Navarro (Esp) 77 72,
150 P Gal (Cze) 78 72, L Saltman (Sco) 77 73, O Lebl (Cze) 79 71, B Barham (Eng) 77 73, P Svajlen (Svk) 73 77
152 P Nic (Cze) 72 80, Š Zach (am) (Cze) 80 72,
153 R Schovanek (Cze) 82 71, N Meitinger (Ger) 75 78
155 J Stanislav (Cze) 79 76, J Heath (Eng) 75 80
159 A Kaunas (Ltu) 77 82
162 D Strouf (am) (Cze) 81 81
168 P Dedek (am) (Cze) 83 85
Labels: CHALLENGE TOUR