GOLF SICILIAN OPEN:THERE ARE a number of pernickety tasks confronting players in this inaugural Sicilian Open, with the Gary Player-designed course at Donnafugata Resort near Ragusa asking stern questions.
“It’s hard work to be honest, the course is tough and the conditions are tough,” was how Damien McGrane put it after successfully battling his way to the first part of the job: surviving the midway cut.
In fact, McGrane – who failed to muster a single birdie in a chiselled round of 73 for 143, one over par – and Peter Lawrie, who had a frustrating old day with the putter in hand en route to 71, also for 143, were the only Irish players to make it into the weekend as Gareth Maybin and Shane Lowry made early exits.
On a day when England’s Anthony Wall shot an impressive 67 for 133, nine-under, to establish a two-stroke lead over Richard Green and Raphael Jacquelin, it was a case of what might have been for Dubliner Lawrie who played impeccably from tee-to-green only to find life difficult on the slow greens.
Indeed, the contrast between Lawrie and left-handed Australian Green was rather interesting. While Lawrie found 16 greens in regulation, more often than not giving himself genuine birdie chances only to take 35 putts, Green was forced to play 17 holes using his sand wedge as a putter after damaging his blade on his first (the 10th) where he took a double bogey.
The wedge proved to be a magic wand for Green, who contrived to produce six birdies and no bogeys for the remainder of the round on the way to a 67 that moved him into a share of second place at the midway stage with Jacquelin in their pursuit of Wall.
For Lawrie, it was time to focus on the positives. “I did a lot very well, struck the ball nicely off the tee. I didn’t hit it into any poor positions all day and hit a lot of good irons. I had no real mental errors or anything like that, so there’s lots of positives,” he said.
The plan for the weekend? “Hopefully I can make a move,” said Lawrie. “If I can keep on playing the same way as I have the past two days, it shouldn’t be an issue. It is just about finding momentum, when you get a birdie then you get another and another . . . but I am just not doing that. It is frustrating.”
McGrane, out in the afternoon when the wind took on an added bite, battened down the hatches.
“In these conditions, it’s very easy to throw it all away. I managed to battle away. It’s just the course and the way it is. If you play well, you’ll do well. That’s the fair test it is. There is no such thing as playing badly or scrubbing it around, you have to be on top of your game and hit a lot of good shots,” said the Meath man of a round where birdies proved beyond him.
In making the weekend’s final two rounds, McGrane achieved one objective. “I’ve had a month off and I need to play four rounds. I’ve hit a lot of good shots and you need to be doing that day in and day out to contend in tournaments. It’s a work-in-progress. I’ll keep working on my game and build on something and carry it through the season,” he remarked.
Lowry had something of a nightmare on his back nine, which saw him come home in 44 strokes for a 79 that left him on 151, nine-over.
“I’m disappointed, because I was actually hitting the ball well. I don’t think I’ve ever driven as well,” he said. However, his short game – usually his strength – betrayed him and two thinned bunker shots, on the first (his 10th) and second (his 11th), pretty much summed up his run home.
Wall had no such worries in charging to the front, shooting a bogey-free round which featured two birdies and an eagle on the 12th.
Wall, whose only tour win came in the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in 2000, attributed his improved form on the greens to downloading an iPhone putting application from former US Tour player Dave Stockton.
“It’s the best 59 pence I have ever spent because his tips have really simplified things for me,” said Wall.
Second round Scores
(Irish in bold and Brit unless stated, par 71):
133 - Anthony Wall 66 67.
135 - Richard Green (Aus) 68 67, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 66 69.
137 - Marco Crespi (Ita) 69 68, Stephen Dodd 65 72, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 69 68, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 68 69, Oscar Floren (Swe) 69 68.
138 - Jamie Elson 69 69, Carlos Del Moral (Spa) 68 70, Chris Wood 67 71, Joel Sjoholm (Swe) 70 68, Colin Montgomerie 69 69, Oskar Henningsson (Swe) 71 67.
139 - Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 72 67, Joost Luiten (Ned) 68 71, Soren Hansen (Den) 69 70, Robert Dinwiddie 70 69, David Lynn 70 69.
140 - Steve Webster 67 73, Paul Lawrie 72 68, Phillip Price 71 69, Jamie Donaldson 73 67, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 69 71, Bernd Wiesberger (Aut) 69 71, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 65 75.
141 - Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 69 72, Robert Rock 71 70, Stephen Gallacher 71 70, Alfredo Garcia-Heredia (Spa) 69 72, Victor Dubuisson (Fra) 70 71, Simon Dyson 71 70, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 72 69, Scott Jamieson 71 70.
142 - Jeev Milkha Singh (Ind) 72 70, Peter Whiteford 74 68, Daniel Gaunt (Aus) 67 75, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 70 72, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 71 71, George Coetzee (Rsa) 70 72, Kenneth Ferrie 73 69, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 68 74, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 70 72, Sebi Garcia (Spa) 68 74, Andrea Perrino (Ita) 71 71.
143 - George Murray 74 69, Damien McGrane70 73, Christian Nilsson (Swe) 71 72, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 73 70, Francois Delamontagne (Fra) 72 71, Robert Coles 71 72, John Bickerton 68 75, Peter Lawrie72 71, Simon Khan 70 73, Lloyd Saltman 73 70, Andrew Marshall 70 73, Alastair Forsyth 72 71, Mark Foster 72 71
144 - Steve Lewton 72 72, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 69 75, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 72 72, Graeme Storm 69 75, Lee Slattery 72 72, Marc Warren 72 72, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 75 69, Martin Wiegele (Aut) 71 73, Jeppe Huldahl (Den) 72 72, Michael Campbell (Nzl) 73 71, Paul Waring 75 69, Matthew Zions (Aus) 67 77, Seve Benson 74 70, Mark F Haastrup (Den) 71 73, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 73 71, Borja Etchart (Spa) 70 74
Failed to make the cut:150 - Gareth Maybin 71 79. 151 - Shane Lowry 72 79.
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