Cormac Sharvin returned an even par round of 71 on another hard-fought day at the Challenge Tour Grand Final in Mallorca.
With five-under par holding the halfway lead at the testing track at Alcanada, Sharvin finds himself seven strokes back at two-over par after a solid performance on Friday.
The Ardglass professional enjoyed the perfect start with an eagle at his opening hole but struggled thereafter, posting three bogeys and one more birdie in an effort that sees him tying 16th at two-over.
The score maintains the 27-year old’s projected finish in 12th place on the Road to Mallorca standings and although he’s safe inside the top-15 and guaranteed a European Tour card, the higher a graduate finishes on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, the higher they will be ranked next season, which could be the difference between playing in some of the European Tour’s bigger events.
Francesco Laporta leads the Grand Final at the halfway stage and is in pole position to be crowned Road to Mallorca Number One after a second round of two under par 69 at Club de Golf Alcanada.
The Italian’s round moved him to five under par, one stroke clear of Spain’s Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez and two ahead of Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist.
“It was a bit more windy today,” he reflected. “We had the wind for the entire 18 holes, whereas yesterday it came down for around five or six holes. It wasn’t easy today – the greens were a bit slower than yesterday and less firm. There were some tough pin positions and the other guys played solid, so it was a good game today.
“Everyone enjoyed the round and we had a good fight. Hopefully we’ll have another good fight tomorrow.
“I’m going to practice a bit this afternoon, then I’m going to go and play PlayStation!”
After 36 holes in Mallorca, current projections show the top 15 would be unchanged if the tournament were to end as it is with Darius van Driel clinging onto the last card, but several players have given themselves a shot of glory with two rounds remaining.
Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson is the man best-placed to break into the graduation spots after his second consecutive level par round of 71 has him in a tie for seventh place heading into the weekend and 16th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, just 4,854 behind van Driel.
Sebastian Heisele and Matthew Jordan, who have both likely secured their European Tour playing privileges for next year, share fourth place on two under par, while England’s Ross McGowan posted a bogey-free 66 to move into sixth position with a further escalation of the leaderboard in his sights tomorrow.
The low round of the day – and the week so far – belongs to Laurie Canter, who bounced back from an opening round of 80 with a six under par 65 on day two.
The third round at Club de Golf Alcanada will begin at 8.30am local time, with the top three of Laporta, Garcia Rodriguez and Sciot-Siegrist making up the final group at 11.05am local time.
Full scoring HERE
Leave a comment