CHALLENGE TOUR REPORT AND LINK TO SCORES
Floral Florian blossoming in Rome
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Florian
Fritsch even had the flower beds on his side as the German took the
lead before an overnight suspension at the end of the second day of the
EMC Golf Challenge Open, where he plays his final event of the season
hoping to claim a victory that would virtually seal his European Tour
status next year.
The
28 year old’s fear of flying means he will not be able to participate
in the European Challenge Tour’s ‘Final Swing’ – a series of four
lucrative season-ending events in China, Oman and Dubai – so he needs to
consolidate his place in the top 15 of the Rankings this week in order
to graduate for The 2015 Race to Dubai.
Fritsch
is well on the way as he carded a superb bogey-free four under par
second round 67 to move to five under and take a one-shot lead at
Olgiata Golf Club.
He
did so with a help from both Lady Luck and Mother Nature, after he flew
the 18th green with a rescue club from 242 yards and found a flower bed
via a bounce on the cart path. Due to a number of obstacles, including a
tree, Fritsch was left with a favourable free drop and duly took
advantage to get up and down for a crucial par.
“I’ve
never seen so much media interest around one shot,” said the
Munich-born player. “There were people surrounding me with cameras and
fans taking photos. I got really lucky with my free drop, I had a good
free swing and a lot of green to work, downhill, so I chipped to 12 feet
and holed it.
“I
putted really well today. I have been practising a lot on the greens
lately, especially on long swinging putts, making sure I miss on the
correct sides, and I had loads of really good two-putts today.
“The
golf course out there is great but it’s really tough. There are par
fours that could easily be par fives. I played here in 2009 and 2010 and
it’s changed quite a bit. I had heard they increased it by maybe 1,000
yards and the greens are quick and slick so it demands the full package
of your game.”
Fritsch
admits he needs something big this week if he is to copper-fasten his
place on The European Tour next year but, after a stunningly consistent
season which has yielded two runner-up finishes, four further top tens
and three more top 20s in just 14 Europe-based appearances, he knows he
cannot let it cloud his mind ahead of a huge weekend for his career in
Rome.
“Of
course I have put myself in the position I want to be in going into the
weekend,” he said.
“But on the other hand it’s almost not the position I want to be in because I don’t want to start thinking about prize money and what place I need to finish because my mind will begin to deteriorate then.
“But on the other hand it’s almost not the position I want to be in because I don’t want to start thinking about prize money and what place I need to finish because my mind will begin to deteriorate then.
“I’m
on €73,000 now in the Rankings and I probably need around €80,000 to
make sure I can graduate at the end of the season, but I can’t start
thinking about those things now. I need to just play my game and I have a
very interesting 36 holes ahead of me.”
One
man trying to take a more direct route to The European Tour is Benjamin
Hebert, who lies in outright second place after racking up six birdies
on the way to a four under par second round 67 to move to within one of
the lead on four under.
The
Frenchman is bidding to gain automatic graduation from the Challenge
Tour through the three-wins-in-a-season rule for a second time in his
career, having done so in 2011 before adding his fourth and fifth titles
on the second tier this season.
His
compatriot and overnight leader after the first day, Alexandre Kaleka
(72), shares third place on three under par with young Portuguese
Ricardo Gouveia (71), while former European Tour winner Jeppe Huldahl of
Denmark and another Frenchman Julien Guerrier are on three under but
are yet to finish their second rounds.
Labels: CHALLENGE TOUR
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