Super Mac leads by four in Hamburg

Round Two Report

Robert MacIntyre, pictured, stormed into the Porsche European Open lead, firing a flawless seven-under-par second round of 65 to take a four-stroke advantage into the weekend in Hamburg.

The 23-year-old, who started the day two strokes behind 18-hole leader Paul Casey, carded the low round of the week so far. The left-hander from Oban recorded three birdies on the front nine, which he matched as he came in, capping his round with his seventh gain of the day on the 18^th hole.

A runner-up on two occasions in his rookie season – at the Betfred British Masters and Made in Denmark presented by FREJA in back-to-back weeks in May – this is the first time MacIntyre has held an overnight lead on the European Tour.

Leading the chasing park is Germany’s Bernd Ritthammer, who delighted the home crowds with a six under par round of 66 to reach a seven under par total. He is two strokes ahead of the trio of Casey, Guido Migliozzi and Matthias Schwab.

Bernd Wiesberger and Alexander Björk share sixth place on four under par, while German Dominic Foos is one of six players a stroke further back in eighth.

Player Quotes

Robert MacIntyre: “I just stuck to my game plan – it’s probably the best I’ve driven the ball this year. It’s not just going straight, it’s going miles. I don’t know what I’m doing but it’s working, and I’ll try and continue to do it.

“I’ve changed quite a few things over the season to improve. Dave, my coach, is on the bag this week, he’s doing a great job off the course when I’m at home and doing the right things. It’s great to see the reward.

“It’s going to be tough, especially when it’s the first time that I’ve got such a lead – whether on the Challenge Tour or here on the European Tour – I’ll have to learn from this experience. I’m doing the right things on the course and the right things off the course, I’m nice and relaxed. Everything at home has been brilliant, so I’m in the right mindset for going out this weekend.”

Bernd Ritthammer: “I’ve had a slow season so far, it’s been tough. I’ve been working hard and not really getting any results. Friday for me normally has something to do with fighting the cut – I was very pleased with how I played yesterday, only one under, but conditions were pretty brutal in the morning. That was as good as today.

“I got off to a good start and felt like I was flushing the ball, felt like it was going where I wanted to go. The putter really warmed up and I made some incredible par saves and really good birdie putts. I didn’t expect it to be that easy today, I just played really well.”

Scores after round two: 
par 140 (2x70)
133 R Macintyre (Sco) 68 65 
137 B Ritthammer (Ger) 71 66
139 P Casey (Eng) 66 73, G Migliozzi (Ita) 71 68, M Schwab (Austria) 67 72 
140 A Björk (Swe) 69 71, B Wiesberger (Austria) 71 69
141 P Figueiredo (Portugal) 70 71, K Johannessen (Norway) 70 71, J Winther (Denmark) 72 69, P Larrazábal (Spn) 70 71, D Foos (Ger) 74 67, L De Jager (SAf) 72 69
142 D Fichardt (SAf) 73 69, A Chesters (Eng) 71 71, X Schauffele (USA) 73 69, T Pieters (Belgium) 70 72, B Evans (Eng) 69 73, R Gouveia (Portugal) 72 70
143 B Stow (Eng) 68 75, O Fisher (Eng) 73 70, H Endycott (Australia) 72 71, M Rottluff (Ger) 68 75, S Horsfield (Eng) 75 68
144 N Lemke (Swe) 71 73, L Jensen (Den) 71 73, L Herbert (Australia) 69 75, A Sullivan (Eng) 74 70, R Sterne (SAf) 75 69, A Knappe (Ger) 77 67, S Hend (Australia) 73 71,
145 J Kruyswijk (SAf) 75 70, P Harrington (Irl) 71 74, P Langfors (Swe) 72 73, N Elvira (Spn) 71 74, M Lee (Australia) 73 72, J Campillo (Spn) 74 71, M Hoey (Nir) 74 71, M Southgate (Eng) 74 71, H Leon (Chile) 73 72, J Veerman (USA) 76 69, A Saddier (Fra) 77 68, R Karlberg (Swe) 74 71, S Gregory (Eng) 73 72
146 D Gavins (Eng) 76 70, P Reed (USA) 74 72, P Waring (Eng) 74 72, J Lagergren (Swe) 77 69, D Papadatos (Aus) 74 72, R Wattel (Fra) 72 74, G Moynihan (Irl) 74 72, I Cantero Gutierrez (Esp) 72 74, A Quiros (Esp) 73 73, H Tanihara (Jpn) 74 72, K Kitayama (USA) 74 72, J McLeod (Aus) 72 74, S Kim (USA) 72 74,
147 S Manley (Wal) 72 75, Z Lombard (RSA) 72 75, C Sordet (Fra) 75 72, J Singh Brar (Eng) 74 73, A Wu (Chn) 77 70, R Fox (Nzl) 76 71, J Van Zyl (SAf) 78 69, T Merritt (USA) 77 70, A Bland (Australia 71 76, M Orrin (Eng) 72 75, R Fisher (Eng) 72 75, R Sabbatini (Slovakia) 78 69, M Hammer  (Ger) (am) 72 75 
148 J Smith (Eng) 78 70, M Kuchar (USA) 74 74, D Lawson (Aus) 73 75, T Bjørn (Den) 77 71, N Højgaard (Den) 75 73, S Kjeldsen (Den) 74 74, H Arkenau (Ger) 77 71, J Girrbach (Sui) 74 74, J Choi (S Kor) 77 71, A Levy (Fra) 74 74, J Dantorp (Swe) 74 74, E Kofstad (Norway) 74 74, C Hanson (Eng) 74 74, B Henson (USA) 74 74, P Edberg (Swe) 76 72, T Immelman (SAf) 75 73,
149 L Johnston (Sco) 74 75, S Crocker (USA) 77 72, D Burmester (SAf) 75 74, T Pulkkanen (Fin) 74 75, M Schmitt (Ger) 75 74, K Samooja (Fin) 74 75, S Chawrasia (Ind) 76 73, R Ramsay (Sco) 75 74, M Nixon (Eng) 81 68, M Kieffer (Ger) 75 74, R McEvoy (Eng) 77 72, J Catlin (USA) 78 71, A Connelly (Can) 77 72, J Hansen (Den) 79 70, J Wang (S Kor) 75 74, B Staben (Ger) 77 72, G Forrest (Sco) 75 74, L Bjerregaard (Den) 74 75,
150 D Stewart (Sco) 76 74, L Gagli (Ita) 75 75, C Sharvin (Nir) 73 77, E Cuartero Blanco (S) 71 79, O Wilson (Eng) 79 71, D Heinzinger (Ger) 75 75, N McCarthy (Eng) 75 75, R Paratore (Ita) 77 73, C Blomstrand (Swe) 79 71
151 M Siem (Ger) 81 70, H Long (Ger) 78 73, K Reitan (Nor) 81 70, D Cooke (USA) 73 78, A Cañizares (Spn) 76 75, M Warren (Sco) 76 75, G Schultes (Ger) 73 78, A Otaegui (Esp) 76 75, M Schmid (am) (Ger) 77 74 
152 M Lafeber (Netherlands) 75 77, B Rumford (Australia) 77 75, P Oriol (Spn) 78 74, W Nienaber (SAf) 79 73, F Zanotti (Par) 75 77, N Tinning (Den) 78 74, M Campbell (Nzl) 78 74, A John (Ger) 80 72, A Arnaus (Spn) 79 73
153 S Brazel (Aus) 75 78, F Fleer (Ger) 74 79, H Ellis (Eng) 78 75, A Karlsson (Swe) 76 77, J Suri (USA) 77 76
154 T Murray (Eng) 79 75, Y Miyazato (Jpn) 78 76, J Morrison (Eng) 76 78
155 E De La Riva (Esp) 76 79, S Forsström (Swe) 79 76 
156 D Drysdale (Sco) 79 77 
157 M Manassero (Ita) 81 76, M Walz (Ger) 79 78 
158 F Bergamaschi (Ita) 77 81, D Borda (Spn) 79 79 
159 H Park (S Kor) 76 83,
** C Shinkwin (Eng) 77 RT, J Walters (SAf) 79 WD, V Dubuisson (Fra) 82 WD

Ends