INDIA CLYBURN IMPROVES, FIONA LIDDELL FALLS BACK IN JUNIOR ORANGE BOWL

TADIOTTO GOES TWO CLEAR, STROM, 

AND HOYOS SHARE GIRLS' LEAD 
 

 By DAVID MACKINTOSH

Belgian-born Giovanni Tadiotto, pictured right, 16-year-old son of an Italian  teaching pro, overcame a rocky start to post a second-round 69 that was sufficient to convert his overnight lead-share into a two-stroke advantage on six-under-par 136 at the halfway stage of the 51st Junior Orange Bowl boys' international tournament over the par-71 Biltmore course (6,742yd) at Coral Gables, the Florida home of the University of Miami. 

In the girls' tournament over a 6,089yd par-71 course, overnight leader Sweden’s Linnea Strom said she struggled and was therefore absolutely delighted to discover her second-round 73 was good for a share of the halfway lead. Strom and Colombia’s Maria Hoyos are tied at 140, 2-under par, a single stroke ahead of South Korea’s Juwon Jeong.
Scottish U21 girls open title-holder India Clyburn (Woodhall Spa\) improved to T15 on 152 with a three-over 74, made up of 16 par figures, a double bogey 7 at the long 15th and a bogey at the second - no birdies.
Scottish U18 girls match-play champion Fiona Liddell, daughter of Germany-based Scottish club pro Stephen at Schloss Vornhoz. in contrast had only eight par figures in a seven-over 78 for T19 position on 153.
Fiona had three birdies (long first, short 12th and long 18th); three  double bogeys (short second, par-4 sixth and long 15th, as well as four bogeys). 

Tadiotto (67,69 -136), who won the annual Total Belgian Junior International boys' tournament by nine strokes back in late August,  leads by two from Canada’s Tony Gil, Argentina’s Matias Lezcano (70-68) and Chile’s Joaquin Niemann (67-71). Gil posted 66, the tournament-low so far.

“I had two double bogeys and just two birdies, which is a disappointing round, so having a share of the lead going into the last two days is an unexpected bonus,” Strom confided.

“I didn’t play badly, I hit my irons better than the first day but I didn’t putt as well and didn’t make many chip-putt saves.”   

Gil, a 16-year old plus-4 handicap from Vaughan, Ontario, carded 5-under par on the front nine (his back nine) and admitted he was still in thrill-mode, but also aware there was a little luck involved.

“I was in the trees twice on the stretch but on both occasions punched out to the green and made birdies. Then at the last hole I stuck my approach in really close, so everything came out perfect.”

Tadiotto got off to an uncomfortable start, admitting he might have put himself under too much pressure after his strong opening session. He scrambled out of his first nine holes at 1-over par and from there on determined to regroup mentally.

“I went back to basics, trying hard to play one shot at a time, concentration on the application, not the outcome and from there I started swinging better and rediscovered my rhythm.”   

In proof of that regained comfort level, the 16-year old from his father's teaching base at Baisy-Thy, Belgium birdied two of his closing three holes.

Argentina’s Lezcano’s 69 was a round he considered was more solid mentally than his opening 70, where he’d reached 4-under before slipping on the closing holes. 

“I avoided trouble today, took some strain out of play,” he said with a smile. 

Chile’s Niemann also recovered strongly from three dropped shots on his opening side to post an even-par 71. Iceland’s Gisli Sveinbergsson pushed up the leaderboard with a sparkling 67 for 140 and power-driver Carl Yuan’s 68  for 139 now has him as the leading U.S. player in fifth place.

“I would like to have played better but it didn’t happen today,” said Colombia’s Hoyos, who played her first 10 holes in even par then dropped two shots before a consolation last-hole birdie. 

“It was a little windy and I never got anything going with my putter.”

England's Jamie Dick slipped back from T9 to T31 after a 77 for five-over 147.
 
BOYS' LEADERBOARD
Par 142 (2x71)
136 G Tadiotto (Belgium) 67 69
137 T Gill (Canada) 72 66, M Lezcano (Argentina) 70 68, J Niemann (Chile) 67 71
139 C Yuan (USA) 71 66
SELECTED SCORE
147 J Dick (England) 70 77 (T31)

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GIRLS' LEADERBOARD
Par 142 (2x71)
140 L Strom (Sweden) 67 73, M Hoyos (Colombia) 68 72
141 J Jeong (S Korea) 69 72
142 L Altmann (Brazil) 71 68
143 L Harm (Germany) 71 72

SELECTED SCORES
152 I Clyburn (England) 78 74 (T15)
153 F Liddell (Scotland) 75 78 (T19)

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