Gary Murphy is on course for a top-five finish as Phillip Price extended his advantage at the top of leaderboard on day two of the Sergio Melpignano Senior Italian Open
An opening five-under 65 left Murphy in a share of fifth place overnight and he backed it up with a two-under-par second round to move to -7 on a breezier Friday.
Needing a top-five finish to gain entry into next week’s Champions UK plc Senior European Masters in Spain, Murphy began round two steadily, carding nine straight pars to reach the turn in level-par.
After a bogey on 11, he rebounded with three birdies in a four-hole stretch to storm back into the top five and sits in a five-way share of fourth with 18 holes to go.
Price backed up his first-round 64 with a solid 68 to move to -12 and open up a four-shot lead.
The Welshman is one of only two players to be bogey-free after 36 holes, having once again overcome the breezy coastal conditions and testing greens at San Domenico Golf in Italy’s southern Puglia region.
The 2002 Ryder Cup player will be joined in the final group for tomorrow’s closing round by English duo Andrew Marshall and Van Phillips, who both sit at -8. Five players are one further back at -7, including Phillip Archer, Greig Hutcheon, Craig Farrelly, Mikael Lundberg and Gary Murphy, who was last man into the field and only arrived late on Wednesday night having cut short a family holiday.
But it’s Price – a three-time winner on both the DP World Tour and the Legends Tour – who remains the man to catch with 18 holes still to play. “I’m really pleased with how I played,” said Price. “Yesterday was a great day so to follow it up with a solid four-under was a good effort. I’ve been driving it well and not getting myself into trouble. It’s just about not making mistakes tomorrow and continuing to hit good drives and iron shots.
“Tomorrow I’ve just to go and play well again and try to get away from everybody else. The conditions were more difficult today and we had a different wind, so the scoring probably wasn’t as good as yesterday. Tomorrow will be back to the wind we had on day one, so I think we’ll see some low scores. I remember James Kingston shooting 10-under to win here so I know there’s a lot of guys who can shoot really low and I’m still going to have to do some damage to get away from them all.”
One of those in the chasing pack with designs on the trophy is Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg, who is the form player on the Legends Tour. Like Price, he has three DP World Tour titles to his name but is yet to break through in the senior ranks. Recent performances would suggest it might not be far away, with top-10 finishes in four of his last five events, including 2nd place in the Black Desert NI Legends and T4 at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship.
“I’ve just been very consistent with all parts of my game,” said Lundberg after a second-round 69 took him to within five of the lead. “From when I started playing well, the putting started working better and the chipping as well. I’ve been hitting a lot of fairways, lots of nice irons shots. It’s not magic out there, it’s just small improvements. Everything is just slightly better.”
Along with Van Phillips, the 2024 WINSTONgolf Senior Open champion, Andrew Marshall is Price’s nearest challenge after a second-round 69. “I’ve played really steady for two days. I’ve just been very patient and although I’ve left a few out there I’m in a good position. I’m four behind so I just need to hole some putts and I might have a chance. I’d probably prefer to be in the chasing groups than in the final group, but I suppose it’s about time I grew up and stared Pricey in the eye and try to give him a run for it. I’ll just try to enjoy it, that’s the main thing.”
Murphy will also be hoping for a spectacular Saturday, needing a good result to qualify for the next tournament on the Legends Tour schedule, the Champions UK plc Senior European Masters.
“I’m delighted with where I am right now. The wind was different and the par-fives weren’t as gettable but I’ve played lovely today, probably only hit one really bad shot in two days on 11 but I bounced back nicely with a birdie on 12, another from 25 feet on 13 and one more on 15. One bogey in 36 is a minor miracle for me. Top-five was the goal at the start of the week as that gets me into La Manga, anything else is a bonus.”
The race for the season-long Order of Merit also continues to hot up with Peter Baker looking to make up ground on leader Scott Hend, but the Australian bounced back in round two with a sparkling 67 to sit just a shot behind the Englishman.
Play resumes on Saturday morning at 09:00 local time with the final three-ball out at 11:00.
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