Friday, May 12, 2017

Matt Wallace extends Open de Portugal lead

but he still has six holes to play in Round 2

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Matt Wallace, with six holes still to play in his second round,  held a commanding five-shot lead when darkness put a stop to play on day two of the weather-affected Open de Portugal at Morgado Golf Resort which may well be truncated to 54 holes because the majority of players have yet to complete two rounds.
First-round leader Wallace, pictured right,  fired six birdies in his opening 12 holes on Friday to get to 16 under par and stay bogey-free for the tournament so far.
Germany's Sebastian Heisele was alone in second on 11 under after carding three birdies and a single bogey in the first 12 holes of his second round.
Matthieu Pavon of France and Englishman Ashley Chesters were the leaders in the clubhouse on nine under after producing second round scores of 69 and 71 respectively.
Erik van Rooyen and Jamie Rutherford were also in a tie for third with holes still to play on Saturday morning.
England's Wallace led by a single shot at the end of the first round in Portimão after carding ten birdies in a flawless 63 early on day one.
Play was suspended due to thunder and lightning on Thursday afternoon, with the entire second wave of players forced to finish their first rounds on Friday morning.
Many of those were soon back out on the course and had completed their second rounds before Wallace teed off at 4.55pm on Friday, but the 27 year old remained in front.
And Wallace, who won six Alps Tour events last season to earn his Challenge Tour card, extended his lead at the earliest opportunity with a birdie at the tenth - his first.
He then made back-to-back gains at the 12th and 13th before adding another birdie at the 16th on his way to reaching the turn in 33. Further birdies at the first and third took him to 16 under.
Home favourite José-Filipe Lima was among the large group in a tie for seventh on eight under after following up his opening 67 with a 71 on Friday.
Round two will resume at 8 am on Saturday.
Player Quotes
Matt Wallace: “It was definitely more of the same but, actually, I probably played better today.
“I had to deal with the pressure, and also the difference in the condition of the course because we teed off at 4.55 pm. I’ve never done that before. I think I dealt with everything really well today.
“I’m really happy with my performance. I holed a lovely putt on the last there to keep the momentum going, so I'm really pleased.”
Ashley Chesters: “The best moment out there this afternoon was probably the eagle on 13. I holed quite a long one - maybe 30 or 40 feet – and I was feeling a bit low on energy then so it was nice to roll that one in.”
Matthieu Pavon: “I had a bit of momentum this afternoon. I played very solid to finish round one this morning, which gave me confidence going into round two straight afterwards and I managed to make a few birdies straight away."
José-Filipe Lima: “The afternoon was very much like morning. I'm playing very well. I made one mistake with the double-bogey on hole 14, but my game is very good and I’m feeling confident.
“The wind and the rain made things difficult yesterday. I've played 29 holes today and I’m a bit tired so I’m looking forward to getting back to the hotel for a rest.
“I'm going to have patience again tomorrow. Playing over the weekend is the most important part of the week.”
 
TO VIEW THE SCOREBOARD AND SEE HOW MANY
PLAYERS HAVE STILL TO PLAY 36 HOLES, INCLUDING A GOOD FEW SCOTS,

CLICK HERE

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