On the toughest windy conditions of the week at Aruba’s Tierra del Sol Resort, Spa and Country Club, Michael Hoey and Gareth Maybin of Ireland reclaimed the outright lead at The Omega Mission Hills World Cup Aruba Qualifier in the Dutch Caribbean.
The Irishmen carded a three under par 68 on the third round of fourballs to lead with a ten under par total of 203, one-stroke clear of Puerto Rico, Paraguay and Italy.
“It was tough out there. It was just really hard with the wind, as it takes a lot out of you,” commented Hoey. “Maybe we didn’t putt as well as we did on the last couple of days, but it was good anyway. We caught a lot of fairways and greens”.
The Irishmen birdied the first, but then carded eight consecutive pars. A strong charge of birdie-par-birdie-birdie from the tenth secured a two stroke lead before they gave a shot back by bogeying the par five 14th.
“Anytime you are at the top of the leader board you have to feel happy. Tomorrow we just have to hit fairways and greens, shoot a good solid score and see what happens. There are many good players out here, so we have to go out there and focus on our own game,” added Maybin.
Wilfredo Morales and Miguel Suárez of Puerto Rico and Carlos Franco and Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay both carded a 67 to move into the three-way tie for second with the Molinari brothers from Italy, who slipped out of a share of the lead by carding a 68. Meanwhile, Venezuela’s Miguel Martínez and Juan Carlos Berastegui hold the fifth and last qualifying spot available after a 66 that saw them climb two spots with an eight under par score of 205.
The Omega Mission Hills World Cup Aruba Qualifier 2007 awards five spots for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, to be played in China, November 22-25. The qualifying event is conducted by the Tour de las Americas on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours.
