Caldwell well placed to pounce

Challegne of Ireland: Jonathan Caldwell remains in hot pursuit of Sweden’s Ake Nilsson after the second round of the Challenge…

Challegne of Ireland:Jonathan Caldwell remains in hot pursuit of Sweden's Ake Nilsson after the second round of the Challenge of Ireland at Moyvalley. The Ulsterman is level with Nicolas Colsaerts and one behind the leader after his second 68 at the Kildare venue.

Nilsson’s card boasted nine birdies but he shot the same score as Caldwell to add to yesterday’s 67.

“I’d love to be there or thereabouts come Sunday,” said Caldwell today. “I haven’t won a tournament since turning pro, so to do it in Ireland would be great.

“I’ve got a few friends and family down here with me, and my brother’s on my bag.

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“So I’m looking forward to the weekend, and hopefully we can get the same kind of weather. It’d be good to take some decent form back onto the main Tour with me, because I felt like I was getting the hang of it.

“I had a habit of pulling my drives slightly left, but I’ve done some work on it and we seem to be getting there. My putting has also improved, so hopefully I can put it all together over the weekend.”

Englishman Robert Coles is on his own, two behind Nilsson, after a 69. The Swede, however, is relaxed ahead of the weekend.

“When I used to come over to Challenge Tour events after playing mainly in the Nordic League in the past, I put too much pressure on myself to do well instead of just trying to relax and enjoy myself, which affected my form,” he said.

“But having come from the main Tour, I don’t feel as much pressure to perform this week, and I think that’s showed in the way I’ve played.”

Next best of the Irish are Michael McGeady (66) and Colm Moriarty (70) on four under, while amateur Michael Durcan carded a 68 to move to one under.

Collates scores from Moyvalley

135Å Nilsson (Swe) 67 68,

136N Colsaerts (Bel) 70 66, J Caldwell 68 68

137R Coles (Eng) 68 69

138R Davies (Wal) 71 67, G Hutcheon (Sco) 68 70

139P Gustafsson (Swe) 70 69, A Mellor (Eng) 72 67, P Whiteford (Sco) 71 68, P Kaensche (Nor) 68 71

140 M McGeady 74 66, P Baker (Eng) 68 72, C Moriarty 70 70, M Haastrup (Den) 70 70, F Calmels (Fra) 72 68

141A Marshall (Eng) 70 71, M Tullo (Chi) 76 65, J Hepworth (Eng) 70 71, J Etulain (Arg) 68 73

142C Carranza (Arg) 70 72, S Walker (Eng) 72 70, M Kramer (Ger) 68 74, D Ulrich (Sui) 72 70, R Karlberg (Swe) 72 70, M Curtain (Aus) 73 69

143C Monasterio (Arg) 68 75, B Mason (Eng) 72 71, R Harris (Eng) 73 70, E Ramsay (Sco) 74 69, D Küpper (Ger) 72 71, N Lemke (Swe) 72 71, A Haindl (RSA) 71 72, G Woodman (Eng) 69 74, M Korhonen (Fin) 70 73, J Olesen (Den) 71 72, M Durcan (am) 75 68

144M Millar (Aus) 73 71, S Surry (Eng) 75 69, J Garcia Pinto (Esp) 73 71, S Thornton (Irl) 74 70, J Morrison (Eng) 72 72, J Parry (Eng) 71 73, M Quiros (Esp) 75 69, C Russo (Fra) 73 71

145J Quesne (Fra) 71 74, T Rice (Irl) 72 73, J Moul (Eng) 77 68, R Treis (Ger) 72 73, M Rodriguez (Arg) 70 75, G Clark (Eng) 71 74, R Kilpatrick 76 69, N Turner (Irl) 72 73, A Hansen (Den) 73 72, C McNamara 71 74, L De Jager (RSA) 74 71, D Wardrop (Eng) 74 71, L Kennedy (Eng) 72 73, F Svanberg (Sui) 73 72

146P Del Grosso (Arg) 73 73, R Santos (Por) 76 70, J Abbate (Arg) 72 74, S Bebb (Wal) 76 70, P Bocian (Swe) 74 72, R Giles (Eng) 73 73, N Fox 75 71, M Zions (Aus) 74 72, F Fritsch (Ger) 72 74