The wait was worth it for Paul Dunne and Jonathan Caldwell who, when the numbers were finally crunched to determine who would survive the midway cut, fell on the right side of the equation: as Scotland's Connor Syme assumed the lead in the ISPS Handa Wales Open at Celtic Manor, Dunne and Caldwell joined Cormac Sharvin in surviving into the weekend.
Sharvin’s decent form since the European Tour’s resumption continued with a 71 for a total of two-over-par 144, eight strokes adrift of Scotsman Syme who - a week after finishing tied-third on the same course in the Celtic Classic - added a 70 to his opening 66 for six-under-par 136, two shots clear of his nearest pursuers.
For Co Down player Sharvin, who has a best finish of tied-19th in the English Championship since tournament play resumed, a round which featured four birdies and four bogeys was sufficient to ensure his survival, while Dunne and Caldwell were forced to wait until the very end to get in on the cutline. Gavin Moynihan finished with three birdies in his last four holes but his 70 for 147 proved one shot too many as he failed to make the cut.
Syme, chasing his breakthrough win on the European Tour, described the conditions as “brutal” as he negotiated his way to the lead. “It was a real grind, that was some of the hardest conditions I’ve played in,” he said.
Apart from the title itself, Syme also has his eyes set on clinching a place in the field for the US Open at Winged Foot next month. The 10 leading players on the UK Swing mini-order of merit after the Wales Open will get exemptions into the season’s second Major.
Leaderboard
British and Irish unless stated, par 71
136 Connor Syme 66 70
138 Haotong Li (Chn) 72 66, Sihwan Kim (Kor) 71 67, Liam Johnston 70 68, Sebastian Soderberg (Swe) 68 70, Jordan Smith 66 72, Nacho Elvira (Esp) 71 67
139 Romain Langasque (Fra) 71 68
140 Marcus Kinhult (Swe) 69 71, Justin Harding (Rsa) 70 70, Laurie Canter 71 69, Robert Rock 71 69, David Dixon 70 70
141 Matthew Jordan 69 72, Sebastian Heisele (Ger) 70 71, Ashley Chesters 69 72, Adrian Otaegui (Esp) 71 70, Renato Paratore (Ita) 69 72, Aaron Rai 70 71, Thomas Pieters (Bel) 69 72
142 Kurt Kitayama (USA) 68 74, Adrian Meronk (Pol) 73 69, Brandon Stone (Rsa) 70 72, Mathieu Fenasse (Fra) 72 70, Matthew Southgate 69 73, Adrien Saddier (Fra) 71 71, Sami Valimaki (Fin) 70 72, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 72 70
143 Marcus Armitage 74 69, Craig Howie 74 69, Lorenzo Scalise (Ita) 72 71, Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 73 70, Nicolas Colsaerts (Bel) 71 72, Jorge Campillo (Esp) 75 68, Callum Shinkwin 68 75, Oscar Lengden (Swe) 72 71, Daan Huizing (Ned) 70 73, Dean Burmester (Rsa) 72 71
144 Andrew Johnston 73 71, Maximilian Kieffer (Ger) 71 73, Oliver Fisher 71 73, Jason Scrivener (Aus) 70 74, Wil Besseling (Ned) 73 71, Dale Whitnell 73 71, Calum Hill 73 71, Jack Senior 73 71, Aaron Cockerill (Can) 73 71, Masahiro Kawamura (Jpn) 74 70, Gavin Green (Mal) 73 71, Louis De Jager (Rsa) 70 74, Cormac Sharvin 73 71, Marcel Siem (Ger) 70 74, Ryan Fox (Nzl) 70 74, Steven Tiley 71 73, Lee Slattery 78 66, Sam Horsfield 73 71, Jake McLeod (Aus) 73 71
145 Richie Ramsay 73 72, Niklas Lemke (Swe) 73 72, Richard McEvoy 71 74, Daniel Young 73 72, Sean Crocker (USA) 74 71, Bernd Ritthammer (Ger) 75 70, James Morrison 73 72
146 David Law 71 75, Anton Karlsson (Swe) 77 69, Clement Sordet (Fra) 72 74, Damien Perrier (Fra) 71 75, Zander Lombard (Rsa) 77 69, Matthew Baldwin 74 72, Chris Paisley 72 74, Lars Van Meijel (Ned) 72 74, Paul Dunne 74 72, Darius Van Driel (Ned) 75 71, Robert Macintyre 68 78, Jonathan Caldwell 72 74, Scott Vincent (Zim) 75 71
Missed cut
147 Nicolai Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 77 70, Ross Fisher 74 73, Benjamin Poke (Den) 74 73, Rhys Enoch 75 72, Grant Forrest 75 72, Jacques Kruyswijk (Rsa) 71 76, Gavin Moynihan 77 70, Joachim B Hansen (Den) 73 74, Joel Sjoholm (Swe) 74 73, Jeff Winther (Den) 75 72, Alejandro Canizares (Esp) 73 74, Justin Walters (Rsa) 75 72, Lorenzo Gagli (Ita) 76 71
148 Julian Suri (USA) 73 75, Alexander Bjork (Swe) 77 71, Philip Eriksson (Swe) 73 75, Ross McGowan 73 75, Oliver Farr 72 76, Martin Simonsen (Den) 70 78
149 Tapio Pulkkanen (Fin) 71 78, Phillip Price 76 73, Guido Migliozzi (Ita) 74 75, John Catlin (USA) 73 76
150 Shubhankar Sharma (Ind) 74 76, Adri Arnaus (Esp) 73 77, Lucas Bjerregaard (Den) 72 78, Bryce Easton (Rsa) 73 77, Hurly Long (Ger) 76 74, Ewan Ferguson 72 78
151 Ben Evans 71 80, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 75 76, Eddie Pepperell 74 77, Nicolai Hojgaard (Den) 74 77, Carlos Pigem (Esp) 73 78, Min Woo Lee (Aus) 77 74
152 JC Ritchie (Rsa) 74 78, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 79 73, Ugo Coussaud (Fra) 80 72, Wilco Nienaber (Rsa) 76 76, Emilio Cuartero Blanco (Esp) 74 78
153 Francesco Laporta (Ita) 75 78
154 Zach Murray (Aus) 77 77, Stephen Gallacher 77 77, Michael Campbell (Nzl) 73 81, Jbe Kruger (Rsa) 75 79, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 74 80
156 Tom Gandy (IOM) 77 79
157 Graeme Storm 80 77
