A best-of-the-day two under par 69 in foursomes allowed Italian brothers, Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, to catch Ireland at the top of The Omega Mission Hills World Cup Aruba Qualifier at the Tierra del Sol Resort, Spa and Country Club in the Dutch Caribbean.
The Irish duo of Gareth Maybin and Michael Hoey followed their brilliant 62 of the opening round with a 73 that erased their three stroke overnight lead and allowed Italy to share the halfway lead at seven under par 135.
Guatemalans Alejandro Villavicencio and Pablo Acuña were on pace to claim outright first place, but dropped three strokes over the closing two holes for a 72. Now they share the third spot along with Puerto Rico and Paraguay, two strokes behind the joint leaders.
Puerto Rico’s Wilfredo Morales and Miguel Suárez made the top three by carding a 70, joining Italy as the only teams shooting under par on another windy day at the Tierra del Sol Resort. Meanwhile, Paraguay relied on Carlos Franco’s experience to card a 71 that included a 48 yard sand wedge for eagle at the par four fifth hole.
The Molinari brothers carded four birdies and two bogeys. Francesco said: “It was a good round for us. We played very steady golf, hitting fairways and greens. There were plenty of birdie chances, and our only regret was the two bogeys on holes 3 and 18. Those holes were supposed to be easy, as the wind was blowing in our favour.”
After a three over par 39 on the front nine, the Irish were forced to fight back in order to survive. Hoey commented: “We just didn’t play our best at the start. A couple of bad tee shots made it difficult for us. We just tried to gather ourselves together and we just tried to give ourselves chances on the back, hitting fairways and greens. I had some pretty good iron shots down the stretch and Gareth had some pretty good drives. What matters is that we are still in position.”
The third round will be played under the format of foutball best-ball, with the teams returning to the alternate shot foursomes on Sunday’s final round.
The Omega Mission Hills World Cup Aruba Qualifier 2007 awards five spots for the Omega Mission Hills World Cup, to be played in China from November 22-25. The qualifying event is conducted by the Tour de las Americas on behalf of the International Federation of PGA Tours.
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