Paul Lawrie loses to Canizares in his own match-play tournament

 

REPORT BY EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS 

Marcel Siem delighted the home fans with a birdie-birdie finish to beat Mikko Ilonen two up and progress to the last 16 of the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play.

Finland’s Ilonen had been in record-breaking form at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach on Thursday as he beat Frenchman Matthieu Pavon 8 and 7 but he could not create that magic in round two and the German had a big finish to set up a clash against Belgian Thomas Detry.

Siem and Ilonen shared a classic nip-and-tuck match play contest that may not have had the best scoring but was enthralling to the very last.

A par was enough for the German to win the second but Ilonen took advantage of the par five third before a pair of pars put him two up. A par won the seventh for Siem but he eagled the eighth and the duo were locked together at the turn.

Ilonen won the tenth but a bogey on the next gave the hole back before Siem edged his nose in front with a birdie on the 13th. A birdie from the Finn meant it was all square with two to play before Siem sent the crowd around the Beckenbauer Course into raptures.

 

Tournament host Paul Lawrie of Scotland produced a spirited fightback against Alejandro Cañizares but went down 2 and 1.
Lawrie tweeted: "Was 3 down after 8 then 1up after 13 but left foot gave way twice at the end."

The Spaniard will next face Irishman Paul Dunne, a 4 and 3 winner over Jens Fahrbring.

 

There was better news for fellow Swede Johan Carlsson who defeated top seed Matthew Southgate of England 4 and 2 to set up a clash against Australian Marcus Fraser.

 

Alexander Knappe gave the home fans more to celebrate with a 5 and 4 win over Frenchman Victor Dubuisson that earned him a match against England's Tom Lewis.

 

Maximilian Kieffer could not make it four Germans in the last 16 alongside Siem, Knappe and Florian Fritsch as he fell 2 and 1 to Fraser.

Defending champion Anthony Wall of England is also safely through to Saturday, after a one up win over South Africa’s Haydn Porteous.

Player quotesMarcel Siem:

“It was really tough, Mikko and I didn’t play well on the front nine. There was no real putt I had to hole, it was always given, I had to give him or he had to give me the hole. We didn’t really get into a big fight birdie fest.

“The back nine was a lot better. I said to myself at the beginning of the week, 'I won four tournaments and a World Cup with my emotions. I know some weeks they got in the way for me but I think to get back on track I need my emotions - that's me.

“I think I have another ten years in front of me and I want to keep my emotions out there. I tried to be a lot calmer, that doesn't work for me and it was really enjoyable today. A few fist pumps, I hope the people liked that, it's just automatic for me it's not being a show-off - that's me. It was really enjoyable.

“18 is such a tough hole for match play. I actually wanted to hit driver to be honest because the ball is really going far, but Guy, the best caddie ever, said ‘hit a five wood and it will be eight iron in and you’ve got to carry the trap on the left’. I just tried to hit it as hard as I can and it was a big relief.”

Alejandro Canizares:

“It was a fun match. I started off three up after eight and was playing quite good. Then he started playing really good, made some birdies and some really good putts. It was tough in the end.

“The key for our match was the 16^th. He made a very long putt for birdie and I really wanted to make that, I had to make it, and it went in. After that he had a couple of good shots to finish up, but it was an intense match, it was fun.

“It’s fun, match play is totally different. It’s a fun way of playing golf, I like it very much. It’s a shame that we don’t play more of this.”

Johan Carlsson:

“I keep loving match play. For some reason I feel like I can play quite relaxed in match play. I mean I’m not saying I’m not playing relaxed otherwise, but it’s just a bit easier because you only have one person to beat instead of the whole field. You know standing on tees that a couple of bad shots are not going to kill you. At least, that’s how I feel.

“I’m always quite calm, I try to keep it as mellow as possible. Not getting too excited has been good for me over the years, and not to get too down on myself either if I miss a putt or whatever. That’s how I’m trying to keep it.

“I kept telling myself that I wanted to close out the match and not count on his errors, so that was what I did in the end and that felt really good.”

Anthony Wall:

“It was a great game, a good standard of golf. I feel sorry for Haydn. He’s been struggling a lot of the year and I think he played really well today. That’s match play, it’s one or two holes or one or two shots and luckily it was my turn.

“You want to just keep playing, keep working hard and not give anything away. I played great on the front nine, but I just gave away eight and nine with a par and a bogie. That stuck in my mind not to do again. Whenever you get a chance you take it."

 

The full results and pairings list and the tournament draw matrix can be downloaded below:

SEPLMP PAIRINGS AND TIMES.pdf

2017 SEPLMP MATCH PLAY DRAW MATRIX.pdf