GOLF: SICILIAN OPEN:THE INAUGURAL Sicilian Open didn't quite bargain for this, as a couple of fighter jets on a morning training exercise performed in the skies over the Donnafugata resort. More ominously, the dark clouds – and the threat of lightning – caused greater disruption with a near two-and-a-half hour weather delay leaving unfinished business for those contending for the title.
Peter Lawrie, though, was one of those who did finish. Unfortunately for him, a day which started with rich promise failed to deliver as he bogeyed two of his finishing three holes for a 73, for two-under-par 282. It meant the Dubliner – who had flirted with a first top-10 finish of the season for much of the weekend – dropped to tied-29th, some nine shots adrift of leader Raphael Jacquelin.
Jacquelin, naturally, was one of the 10 players who failed to complete their rounds. The Frenchman – who had opened up a three-stroke lead at one juncture – managed to play 12 holes before play was suspended as darkness enveloped the hills above Ragusa. Jacquelin was 11-under through 12 holes, a shot ahead of his playing partner Anthony Wall with Spain’s Jose Manuel Lara, on nine-under through 15 holes, the only other realistic contender.
For Lawrie – who finished in virtual darkness before rushing off to catch a ferry to Malta in order to make his connecting flight home to Dublin – it was a disappointing conclusion. On Saturday, he had reinvigorated his challenge by switching to an old “Yes” putter that he brought with him. “I brought it out in case of emergencies. It’s an old one and it worked well. I never give away my putters, I’ve a whole pile of them. It is nice to be able to switch back and to get a different feel sometimes,” said Lawrie.
That fine 66 in the third round sent Lawrie out sniffing a possible top-10 finish or even better. However, when Lawrie eventually got under way following the weather delay, a bogey at the first provided a portent of what was to come as he failed to continue the momentum from Saturday.
In fact, Lawrie had to wait until the par seventh – where his drive finished on a caked cart path and he played a fine lay-up over the trees – for his first birdie. On the homeward run, Lawrie grabbed birdies at the 12th and 14th but gave the shots back with bogeys on the 16th and, in near darkness, on the 18th. “I’ve got a bit of encouragement from this week. I’m normally a fast-starter to the season but my last four performances (including two missed cuts) were disappointing. This gives me some encouragement going forward,” said Lawrie, after his best finish of the season so far.
Damien McGrane finished with a closing 68 for 285, one-over-par, which moved him up 18 places to tied-46th. “I made far too few birdies, eight for the week is absolutely not working. I’m content enough with my game, though. I understand I have plenty of work to do but it is early in the season and I have time on my side,” claimed McGrane, who is on a three-week stretch which also includes this week’s Andalucian Masters and next week’s King Hussain Trophy in Morocco.
Jacquelin, chasing his third career win but first since the BMW Asian Open in 2007, may well wish that he didn’t get to play the 12th in the gathering gloom last evening.
There, a pulled tee shot up into the rocks led to a bogey six while Wall closed the gap with a birdie. “At least I am in the best position possible to come and finish it off,” he remarked.
Leading Final Scores
EUROPEAN TOUR SICILIAN OPEN
(Leading scores as play is suspended at Donnafugata , Sicily.
(Irish in bold and Brit unless stated, par 71). Note: Final round play will restart today at 7am.
277 – Joel Sjoholm (Swe) 70 68 70 69.
279 – Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 68 70 71 70, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 71 71 69 68, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 72 69 69 69, Oscar Floren (Swe) 69 68 71 71, Scott Jamieson 71 70 68 70.
280 – Marco Crespi (Ita) 69 68 72 71, Lee Slattery 72 72 67 69, Jamie Donaldson 73 67 70 70, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 69 71 73 67, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 69 71 70 70, George Coetzee (Rsa) 70 72 72 66, Graeme Storm 69 75 67 69.
281 – Stephen Dodd 65 72 72 72, Soren Hansen (Den) 69 70 69 73, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 71 67 72 71, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 73 71 67 70, Victor Dubuisson (Fra) 70 71 68 72, Simon Khan 70 73 69 69. 282 – Steve Webster 67 73 70 72, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 72 67 72 71, Stephen Gallacher 71 70 72 69, Colin Montgomerie 69 69 71 73, Alastair Forsyth 72 71 74 65, Peter Lawrie72 71 66 73, Mark Foster 72 71 69 70.
283 – Christian Nilsson (Swe) 71 72 69 71, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 70 72 69 72, Joost Luiten (Ned) 68 71 73 71, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 68 69 72 74, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 69 72 68 74, John Bickerton 68 75 69 71, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 75 69 67 72.
284 – Steve Lewton 72 72 67 73, Richard Green (Aus) 68 67 73 76, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 68 72 75.
285 – Damien McGrane70 73 74 68, Paul Lawrie 72 68 73 72, Robert Coles 71 72 72 70.
286 – Daniel Gaunt (Aus) 67 75 78 66, Paul Waring 75 69 69 73, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 72 71 71 72, Matthew Zions (Aus) 67 77 70 72, Kenneth Ferrie 73 69 67 77, David Lynn 70 69 75 72, Marc Warren 72 72 72 70, Andrew Marshall 70 73 72 71, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 70 72 73 71.
