Essex men share second-round lead at Final 

European Tour School

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Essex’s Robert Coles and Richard McEvoy share the lead after Round Two of European Tour Qualifying School Final Stage after they both tamed the Stadium Course at PGA Catalunya Resortnear Girona in north-east Spain.
McEvoy continued his remarkable run in Girona – where he has earned a European Tour card in three of his last four appearances at Final Stage – following up a seven under par first round on the Tour Course with an equally impressive three under par score of 69 on the tricky Stadium Course.
The 37 year old carded four birdies in Northern Spain to set the clubhouse lead at ten under par, but was caught by his compatriot Coles who made four gains and an eagle to post a four under par score of 68.
Coles, who has earned a European Tour card from Q-School on four previous occasions, was thrilled to be in the running once again at Final Stage.
“I’m delighted with my position,” said the 44 year old. “Four rounds to go is an awfully long way, but it’s a great start and it was nice to be able to play well on the tougher course today.
“I don’t know if my experience here is serving me too well, because I haven’t got great memories round here – it’s fine when you can use your experiences that are positive but not the experiences that are negative, so I’ve just got to make sure I use the good stuff.
“There’s a lot of things that are keeping me going and wanting to keep doing this. When you play a couple of big events, you really see how good it is and that’s where you want to play.
“You want to play your best at the best level you can, so that’s the reason for being here is because you want to get to that level. Physically it’s a long week and it’s tough, but it’s worth it because of what’s there at the end.
“Do I feel I have the game to keep playing at that level? Sometimes I do. Sometimes you doubt yourself, sometimes you don’t, but sometimes you play ok and that’s what gives you the motivation to keep going.
“Do I still enjoy it? Sometimes! Yes I do – someone said that you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, so you’ve always got to bear that in mind, and while you’re physically able and mentally able you’ve got to try.
“Patience is essential. It’s six days and you virtually play golf at exactly the same time every single day, you practise after, you practise before, you go for dinner, it’s the same routine every day, so mentally it’s a long and tough week, so patience is the key.
“I don’t honestly believe you can plan in golf, you’ve just got to play your best every day. Unfortunately there’s no rhyme or reason to golf, and you can shoot a better score on the Stadium than the Tour, you can’t predict it, so we’ll just have to wait and see.”

One off the lead is Germany’s Christian Braeunig. The 24 year old, who has come through both First and Second Stage of Q-School this year, shot a three under par round of 67 to reach nine under par overall – where he was joined by England’s Aaron Rai after an excellent 67 of his own on the more demanding Stadium Course.
Two shots behind the leaders is Ryder Cup winner Edoardo Molinari, who continued his good form in Girona with his second four under par round in two days.

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