Golf:A 400-MILE detour, a broken driver, a swing kink and a cold putter were just some of the problems the Irish quartet of hopefuls were forced to battle as the weather-affected opening round of the dreaded European Tour Qualifying School final stage came to a conclusion 24 hours later than scheduled at the PGA Catalunya Resort in northeast Spain.
But following the frost delays of Saturday that have forced organisers to extend the six-round battle for tour cards to seven days, just one Irishman managed to get hot at the 36-hole complex outside Girona.
Damian Mooney is renowned as a long-driving specialist but the 42-year-old from Belfast did not bargain on being faced with a six-hour drive to the course when he stepped off his flight to Spain last Thursday evening.
Having finished third in his stage two qualifier in Jerez last week, Mooney headed home for a couple of days only to fall victim to the weather-related travel chaos that affected Irish airports for several hours on Thursday.
“Dublin was closed because of the snow and the only place they could fly me from Belfast was Alicante,” said Mooney, who opened with a two-under par 68 on the shorter Tour Course to share 20th place after the opening round of an event where the top 30 and ties after six rounds will earn tour cards.
“I played scrappy enough and didn’t feel that great but it’s behind me now,” Mooney said after a round that featured four birdies and two bogeys. “It’s a good start and I’m playing well thanks to all the work I’ve done with Johnny Foster at the Greenacres Golf Centre in Ballyclare.”
While Mooney never got to start on Saturday, the other three Irish hopefuls had been unable to finish their opening rounds on the tougher Stadium Course because of the frost delays.
But in the end none of them managed to beat par as southwest winds gusting up to 35 mph made it a treacherous test.
Former Royal County Down assistant Simon Thornton was tied for the overnight lead on three-under par with six to play. But he bogeyed his last three holes on the front nine for a level par 72 and a share of 62nd place.
“Yesterday I holed putts for pars that I shouldn’t have done,” Thornton said. “Today I just missed in the wrong places and didn’t hole the putts. When the putts are going in you just walk away and think nothing of it. But it’s onwards and upwards. One round down, five to go.”
Having broken his driver just minutes before his tee time on Saturday, Glasson’s Colm Moriarty was two over with nine to play when he resumed and did well in the end to card a two-over 74, getting up and down from 100 yards to save par at his final hole having just taken a double bogey five following a poor tee shot at the 185-yard eighth.
“It played a lot tougher than yesterday and I was thrown off a little bit with my driver breaking because that has never happened to me before,” Moriarty said.
“Luckily they had one in the tour van with a similar shaft and I hit it okay.”
Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney resumed on one-over with six to play but he struggled with his swing and bogeyed the fifth, sixth and eighth coming home to open with a four over par 76 that left him tied for 136th. “I was getting stuck on the downswing and losing a lot of shots to the right so a spell on the range should do it,” a disappointed Kearney said.
Most of the low scoring occurred on the par-70 Tour Course where England’s Steve Lewton fired a faultless, seven-under 63 to lead by a shot from former Challenge of Ireland winner Andrew Tampion and France’s Jean-Francois Lucquin.
Three under 69s by Australia’s Rick Kulacz and Denmark’s Thomas Norret were the lowest scores on the Stadium Course, where the top 70 and ties after 72 holes will play the last two rounds.
Ogilvy triumphs in style
GEOFF OGILVY won the Australian Open after a final round of 69 saw him triumph by four shots in Sydney. Starting with a five-shot cushion, the overnight leader took no chances and compiled a steady last 18 holes at The Lakes GC that featured four birdies and a bogey to finish on 19 under par.
Alister Presnell and Matt Jones shared second on 15 under with 21-year-old Jordan Sheratt, who fired a 67, and John Senden tied for fourth on 12 under par.
“Today was probably the day I struggled most with my game but all I had to do was not mess up really,” said Ogilvy.
“I won the first week (on the USPGA Tour) and then played relatively horrible golf all year. I didn’t enjoy golf as much this year because of how I was playing.
“But any time you win an Australian Open you’ll look back and think you’ve had a great year. This is the 90-year-old trophy, this is the real jewel.”
