DUNCAN STEWART IN JT 14TH PLACE AFTER TWO ROUNDS IN OMAN
FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
A
little touch of brotherly love helped Daniel Im to the lead at the
midway point of the inaugural National Bank of Oman Golf Classic, as the
American carded a three under par second round of
69 with his brother on the bag to move one clear in Muscat.
Im
admitted that he had not been very close to his younger brother growing
up due to a five-year age gap but they have recently bonded as the
older of the two began his quest for European Tour
stardom.
It
certainly gave him a fillip on day two at the stunning Almouj Golf, The
Wave as he moved one clear of the chasing pack on six under, thanks to
five birdies and two bogeys.
Im currently lies in 21st
position in the Challenge Tour Rankings and needs a big finish to the
season if he is to move into the crucial top 15 and secure graduation to
The European
Tour, barely a year after travelling to Europe for the first time.
He
did those chances no harm at the penultimate event of the 2013 campaign
and Im thinks his brother - also a professional golfer who plied his
trade in Asia this year - has brought the perfect
blend of added expertise and mental tranquillity to the equation having
taken up the bag at last week’s Foshan Open, where ‘Team Im’ finished
tied 12th.
“I've
been hitting it really well all year and just haven’t been making the
putts but my brother has been helping me with my putting stroke and I
think it’s working,” said the 28 year old.
“He’s
my younger brother and he also plays but he has some time off now so he
just said, ’bro I want to come out and help you out’.
“He
makes me laugh sometimes when I'm heated and that keeps me in a good
mood. He will be with me next week at Grand Final and hopefully for a
while.
“It’s
great having him on my bag. When we grew up we were kind of distant
because he is five years younger and we had different groups of friends.
But starting at the end of last year when he
caddied for me at Qualifying School Final Stage (where Im earned his
Challenge Tour card), we got together for a good period of time and
shared some moments and got pretty close.
“Now
it’s pretty comfortable I guess and it’s helping my golf. I can trust
him, he’s a professional golfer and I know that he cares, so it’s
helpful mentally.
“I'm
just going to keep doing what I've been doing for the last couple of
days, keeping it on the fairways and greens and trying to make one-putts
or two-putts.
“I
haven’t had a good run of a few good results this year so hopefully
this is that stretch for me. I'm looking forward to the weekend.”
Duncan Stewart from Grantown on Spey is the leading Scot in joint 14th place after rounds of 71 and 72 for 143, five shots off the pace
There
were three players tied for second place heading into the weekend in
Oman including Finland’s Roope Kakko, who currently lies in 17th
position in the Challenge Tour Rankings
and is chasing a big result to climb into the top 15 with next week’s
season-ending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by
Al Badia Golf Club looming large. He carded a three under par 69 to move
to four under par for the tournament.
Marco
Crespi is also just one shot off the pace in Oman after a second round
67 and his goals are a little different as he attempts to consolidate or
better his 14th position in the
Rankings, the Italian edging closer to a rookie season on The European Tour.
They were both joined by promising 20 year old South African Brandon Stone, who carded a four under par 68.
SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2x72)
138 D Im (USA) 69 69
139 R Kakko (Fin) 70 69, B Stone (RSA) 71 68, M Crespi (Ita) 72 67
140 T Pilkadaris (Aus) 71 69, N Ravano (Ita) 68 72, C Del Moral (Esp) 74 66
141 N Dougherty (Eng) 73 68, P Dwyer (Eng) 73 68, J Moul (Eng) 72 69, C Aguilar (Esp) 71 70
142 G Cambis (Fra) 76 66, S Arnold (Aus) 71 71, J Guerrier (Fra) 68 74,
143 A Pavan (Ita) 72 71, D Stewart (Sco) 71 72, J Huldahl (Den) 76 67, A Domingo (Esp) 72 71, N Kimsey (am) (Eng) 71 72,
144 O Wilson (Eng) 74 70, J Carlsson
(Swe) 72 72, R McGowan (Eng) 72 72, K Borsheim (Nor) 75 69, D Huizing
(Ned) 75 69, N Elvira (Esp) 74 70, J Dantorp (Swe) 74 70, L
Bjerregaard (Den) 76 68, J Barnes (Eng) 72 72, A Gee (Eng) 71 73,
145
R Russell (Sco) 75 70, R Dinwiddie (Eng) 75 70, N Lemke (Swe) 71 74, L
Jensen (Den) 74 71, L Goddard (Eng) 78 67, S Kim (SKor) 71 74, A
McArthur (Sco) 71 74, R Davies (Wal) 77 68
146 J McLeary (Sco) 72 74, A Marshall
(Eng) 72 74, W Besseling (Ned) 74 72, M Ford (Eng) 72 74, J Fahrbring
(Swe) 74 72, G Murray (Sco) 74 72, B Paolini (USA) 72 74, J Abbott
(Eng) 74 72, G Stal (Fra) 74 72, V Riu (Fra) 75 71
147
T Nørret (Den) 75 72, M Jonzon (Swe) 75 72, B An (Kor) 79 68, J Elson
(Eng) 74 73, B Ritthammer (Ger) 76 71, E Dubois (Fra) 72 75, S Walker
(Eng) 74 73
148 B Longmuir (Sco) 74 74, S Tiley
(Eng) 78 70, L Saltman (Sco) 76 72, D Ulrich (Sui) 73 75, P Archer (Eng)
77 71, F Praegant (Aut) 78 70, C Ford (Eng) 70 78, M Lampert (Ger) 73
75, M Haastrup (Den) 74 74, A Otaegui (Esp) 74 74
MISSED THE CUT
149 P Widegren (Swe) 78 71, J Lando
Casanova (Fra) 78 71, M Glauert (Ger) 75 74, J Lima (Por) 73 76, S
Manley (Wal) 76 73, S Hutsby (Eng) 75 74,
150 A Snobeck (Fra) 77 73, A Bernadet (Fra) 76 74,
151 M Brier (Aut) 76 75, A Velasco (Esp) 78 73, T Sluiter (Ned) 72 79, T Murray (Eng) 78 73, L Claverie (Esp) 79 72,
152 T Hatton (Eng) 73 79, J Howarth (Eng) 77 75, P Maddy (Eng) 77 75,
153 P Oriol (Esp) 81 72, D Vancsik (Arg) 70 83, D Griffiths (Eng) 80 73, B Parker (Eng) 77 76, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 84 69,
154 P Edberg (Swe) 79 75, A Rota (Ita) 78 76, D Gaunt (Aus) 79 75, D Brooks (Eng) 76 78, F Calmels (Fra) 78 76,
155 J Timmis (Eng) 76 79,
156 D Kemmer (USA) 78 78, T Pulkkanen (Fin) 77 79,
157 A Perrino (Ita) 81 76, G Porteous (am) (Eng) 75 82,
158
J Shepherd (Eng) 82 76, C Brazillier (Fra) 80 78, H Bacher (Aut) 81
77, J Townsend (Aus) 82 76, R Steiner (Aut) 79 79, P Stojanovski (am)
(Aus) 82 76,
159 G Boyd (Eng) 81 78,
160 A Almusharrekh (Uae) 80 80, H Mubarak (am) (Brn) 80 80,
161 A Dunbar (Nir) 78 83,
167 D Frittelli (RSA) 82 85,
168 G Al Kuwari (am) (Qat) 90 78, A Al Rumhy (am) (Oma) 86 82,
170 A Hameed (am) (Oma) 83 87,
171 F Alsalhab (am) (Ksa) 88 83,
172 D Taylor (Eng) 83 89,
176 S Al Kaabi (am) (Qat) 88 88,
** F Colombo (Ita) 85 WD, L Kennedy (Eng) 72 RT,
Labels: CHALLENGE TOUR
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