Golf:Simon Thornton failed to make headway in the second round of the Challenge Tour Grand Final in Italy but his hopes of gaining a European Tour card for 2012 were still well and truly alive after a one-under-par 70 left him tied for 23rd.
He finished the day nine shots off the lead, set by the mercurial young Englishman Tommy Fleetwood after he shot a spectacular 10-under 61, but Thornton is still well placed to earn a finish high enough to consolidate his place in the all-important top 20.
After his opening round of 67 left him just one shot off the lead going into the second day, Thornton couldn’t take advantage of the generous weather conditions as the low scores began to flood in Puglia.
Thornton, 34, birdied the third hole in a steady front nine which he negotiated in one under, before a birdie on the par-five 14th was offset immediately by a bogey on the 15th.
“It was pretty poor today,” admitted Thornton. “I hit it okay on the front nine and holed nothing but then it was pretty poor on the back nine, so I’ll go out to the range now and work on it.
“I’m still right in there, I played pretty well through to the 12th or 13th but holed nothing, and didn’t hit it close enough. Then I had a couple of bad shots and a few long putts to save par.
“I’ll be working on hitting my irons closer before round three, simple as that really. I’m hitting it decent from the tee, but hitting the irons 20 feet away all day long so I want to be a bit closer.
“Hopefully, two decent rounds now and I’m safe (for a European Tour card), but then you could shoot five under or five over tomorrow and you’re done, so I’ll take every shot as it comes.”
Thornton’s wife, Ciara, is expecting their second child this Saturday and the Irishman did admit that it has been on the back of his mind this week in a similar situation to the arrival of his first child Katie last year, who was also due on the Saturday of a tournament but arrived five days afterwards.
“Hopefully, she can hang on till I get back! But I’ve been checking my phone regularly, so I do have other things on my mind,” he continued.
“It was the same with my first child at the Madeira Open, she was due on the Saturday and was five days late luckily!”
Fleetwood, meanwhile, has been tipped as one of Britain’s brightest young golf talents and he added another thrilling chapter to what is fast developing into a sensational story by taking charge of the season finale with the lowest round to par on this year’s Challenge Tour.
The Southport star’s career low round, which smashed the course record at San Domenico Golf contained eight birdies and an eagle three at the 15th hole.
His devastating display moved the supremely talented 20-year-old to 14 under par and saw him open up a three-shot gap at the top of the leaderboard over local favourite Andrea Pavan.
