Tyler Hogarty continues to impress in the maiden event of the revived MENA Tour campaign and the St Mellion man goes into the final round just three shots back and sharing fifth place.
The England-based Irishman had made just two bogeys over the first 36 holes, making six birdies in round one and following up with another four in round two to sit on eight-under-par, and he’ll play in the penultimate group in Thursday’s final round as he hunts a victory that would bring him full membership to the tour and the first prize of $18,000.
Jack Madden followed his opening 71 with a one-over 73 to drop to level-par and into a share of 40th place.
With nine players within four shots of the lead going into the tournament finale, it was Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo, however, who managed to keep his nerve with a hard-fought 67 in rapidly fading light on the back nine to stay in the premier position established on day one.
“I’m feeling good, my game is pretty solid. I’ve made a lot of birdies in these two days and sank some good putts, so I’m feeling confident going into tomorrow,” said Addabbo after his round. When asked about his game plan for tomorrow’s closing round, he stated: “There’s no game plan tomorrow. I’m just going out there, have fun and play good golf.”
Sitting at 11-under after two days, Addabbo holds a one-shot lead over Pedro Figueiredo, with the Portuguese competitor harnessing his local course knowledge to shoot a superb 66.
“I know this course quite well,” he explained. “I grew up 20 minutes from here and I used to play here quite a bit as a junior. We had a PGA Portugal event here last week, which was great preparation, so I’m very familiar with the layout.”
Speaking about his second round, he added, “It started well with three birdies, three really good putts on the first three holes, so I thought I was really going to go for a low one. I then slowed down in the middle of the round, didn’t hole as many putts, but then had a solid finish in the closing third of the round. My dad was here, and a few friends came to watch, so it’s always nice to play in front of a few people.”
Three-time DP World Tour winner and former Ryder Cupper, Chris Wood, fired a best-of-the-day seven-under to move to -7 overall after a level-par opener. Wood, fresh off a victory in last week’s MENA Tour Q-School, is determined to play his way back into the big leagues, and feels that his game is in good shape to challenge for victory on the final day.
“I probably played better yesterday, but shot level par, though it was tougher conditions,” he said. “Like any course, once you get to know it a little bit, you feel a little bit comfortable. It still requires a little bit of thinking as well, which I like. So far, so good, and hopefully I can continue in that vein tomorrow.”
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