DUNCAN STEWART IN CONTENTION FOR KAZAKHSTAN GLORY

e Duncan Stewart about to putt, picture by courtesy of  Phil Inglis (Getty Images)(c).

 

                            

REPORT FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

 

Duncan Stewart launched himself into contention at the lucrative 

Kazakhstan Open as the Scot birdied his final three holes to card a 

seven under par 65 and move to within two of the lead going into 

the final day at Nurtau Golf Club.

The Grantown-on-Spey man, who is playing his first season on 

the European Challenge Tour, began the day five shots off the 

pace but his putting caught fire on moving day.

He got the ball rolling with a birdie at the par five second hold before gaining another shot at the par three fifth courtesy of a converted eighteen foot putt to reach the turn in two under par.

Things really began to come together on the back nine, though and he picked up back to back birdies at the tenth and 11^th before a 35 foot putt at the 16^th kicked off a run of consecutive birdies all the way home.

If Stewart were to claim a maiden victory in Almaty, he would be the second Scot to win the event in as many years, following Scott Henry’s dramatic play-off victory at Zhailjau Golf Club last year.

“All day the putter was just red-hot,” said the 29 year old. “I played really solid as well, got two really good up and downs at the seventh and the 15^th which are probably the two hardest holes, and then holed some really good putts to keep things going.

“It will be really nice to be in the final group. Anything can happen out there. There are low scores but it’s tricky enough that you can quite easily shoot 74 or 75.

“It is a timely putting streak alright, coming at such a big event. I just put a new putter in the bag a few weeks ago and it’s taken a while to get used to it to be honest. I have changed my set up a little bit this week and I just got the pace of the greens.

“I'm getting the line quite well and everything has been quite good. If my putter is as hot as that and I play half decent tomorrow then I have got a chance, no doubt.”

Currently placed 40^th in the Challenge Tour Rankings, Stewart knows a good week this week could go a long way in helping him follow Craig Lee (2011), Scott Henry and Chris Doak (both 2012) onto The European Tour via the second tier.

“I need a good week here to get into the third-last event in China,” he said. “A win would open up different doors but we’ll just see what happens to be honest.

“I won a few times last year on the satellite tour. One was nip and tuck, one I won by two and the other I won by eight, but I've been playing well since summer and this course sets up nicely for me so it doesn’t faze me. We all play for this feeling. There will always be nerves but good nerves. Hopefully things will go my way tomorrow but if they don’t it’s still been a good week.”

Meanwhile, Johan Carlsson took inspiration from his compatriot and one of the European Challenge Tour’s most famous graduates, Henrik Stenson, as the Swede marched into a two shot lead heading into the final day of the €400,000 event.

The 27 year old signed for a five under par 67 over the challenging 

Nurtau Golf Club lay-out in Almaty to move to the top on 13 under 

par and into contention for a maiden Challenge Tour title in his 

rookie season.

THIRD-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Par 216 (3x72) 

203 J Carlsson (Swe) 69 67 67

205 D Stewart (Sco) 70 70 65, T Hatton (Eng) 68 72 65

206 A Otaegui  (Esp) 67 70 69

208 J Huldahl (Den) 63 72 73, S Arnold  (Aus) 67 67 74

209 F Praegant (Aut) 71 69 69, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 71 68 70, P Maddy (Eng) 69 69 71

210 N Elvira  (Esp) 69 73 68, J Fahrbring (Swe) 68 73 69, S Tiley (Eng) 74 65 71, A Pavan (Ita) 70 71 69, V Riu  (Fra) 73 64 73,

211 B An (SKor) 70 68 73, S Kapur (Ind) 71 71 69, O Wilson (Eng) 70 66 75,

212 C Kim (USA) 65 74 73, T Pilkadaris (Aus) 70 71 71, L Claverie (Esp) 70 67 75, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 72 71 69, G Stal  (Fra) 70 74 68,

213 S Kim (SKor) 69 69 75, R Kakko  (Fin) 72 71 70, B Ritthammer (Ger) 69 70 74, N Lemke (Swe) 73 68 72, A Gee  (Eng) 68 75 70, D Brooks (Eng) 71 69 73, J Guerrier  (Fra) 71 70 72, J Elson  (Eng) 74 68 71, L Bjerregaard  (Den) 72 70 71, A Velasco (Esp) 69 74 70, R Steiner (Aut) 69 69 75,

214 A Rota (Ita) 74 70 70, C Del Moral (Esp) 71 71 72, M Brier (Aut) 70 73 71, C Ford (Eng) 72 70 72,

215 J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 72 71 72, B Stone (RSA) 69 72 74, W Booth  (Sco) 71 72 72, G Cambis  (Fra) 69 71 75, D Huizing (Ned) 73 69 73, L Kennedy  (Eng) 69 71 75, A Johnston (Eng) 70 74 71, C Hanson (Eng) 71 73 71, 

216 J Barnes (Eng) 71 74 71, P Oriol (Esp) 71 71 74, T Sluiter  (Ned) 66 79 71, D Im (USA) 70 73 73, D Gaunt (Aus) 69 70 77, H Porteous (RSA) 76 67 73, M Ford (Eng) 70 75 71, E Dubois (Fra) 73 71 72, F Calmels  (Fra) 73 70 73

217 P Archer (Eng) 71 70 76, A Bernadet  (Fra) 70 73 74

218 C Brazillier  (Fra) 73 72 73, R McGowan  (Eng) 73 69 76, R Davies (Wal) 73 72 73, J McLeary  (Sco) 73 72 73

219 P Edberg (Swe) 71 74 74, A McArthur  (Sco) 74 71 74, J Heath  (Eng) 75 70 74, P Widegren  (Swe) 69 70 80, M Haastrup  (Den) 74 71 74, D Kemmer (USA) 70 73 76,

220 S Hutsby  (Eng) 72 72 76, G Houston (Wal) 72 72 76, J Senior (Eng) 73 72 75,

221 J Lando Casanova  (Fra) 70 75 76, C Aguilar  (Esp) 71 72 78,

223 N Ravano (Ita) 72 73 78, P Figueiredo  (Por) 70 75 78,

 

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS