Walton best of only four Irish qualifiers

PHILIP WALTON passed his first test of the new Ryder Cup campaign with flying colours at Collingtree Park yesterday, where European Tour officials took the unprecedented step of apologising to their players and the public for the abysmal quality of the greens.

The Malahide professional completed his interrupted opening round in 71 and then returned to the gale-swept Northampton course to return a second round 74 for a one over par halfway total that gave him a share of 12th place.

Walton was the best of only four Irish qualifiers behind new Joint leaders Mark Roe and Robert Allenby, who both had 71 for a four under 140 to be one ahead of South African Gavin Levenson and Spaniard Francisco Cea. Swede Daniel Chopra who had a best of the day 68, and David Gilford are the only other players under par.

The casualties included defending champion Sam Torrance, and last year's runner up Michael Campbell, Mark James, and sadly for Irish supporters, Paul McGinley, Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke, as well as Des Smyth, Francis Howley, David Feherty and Ronan Rafferty. But against all their expectations, David Higgins, Raymond Burns and Eamonn Darcy all squeezed in on the exact six over par cut off mark.

Last week in the German Open in Stuttgart, the axe fell at five under par. The disparity between the two standards can be explained by just one word and that is greens'. Those at this parkland course in the middle of a housing estate are now causing acute embarrassment, not only to the club but also to the European Tour who jointly own the complex with the International Management

Group.

Walton recovered from the shock of two successive bogeys at the start of his inward half with a pair of birdie threes after pitching to within a yard of the sixth and seventh flags. Burns who had a second 75, and Darcy who called on all his experience to escape with a 76, landed on the 150 pass mark, as did Higgins despite a day full of handicaps.

One of his partners Norwegian Per Haugsrud had been disqualified the previous evening for failing to return to the course after one of the stoppages for rain. Yesterday morning the other, Frenchman Fabrice Tarnaud announced after only five holes of the second stage that he would retire at the ninth because of a hip injury.

Higgins was thus left on his own at the start of the inward half, and played two holes watched by a television scorer who vouched for his par fours at the 10th and 11th. "On the 11th green I was told by a referee to wait until I could-link up with another match that had been reduced to two players by a withdrawal," said Higgins. "So I ended up playing with one for nine holes, all alone for two, and then with two more for the last seven. On the way 1 had to hang around for 30 minutes waiting for them to arrive."