Frenchman Francois Delamontagne took over the lead at the halfway stage of The European Tour Qualifying School Finals, firing a three under par 69 over the New Course at San Roque Club, Cadiz, Spain, to assume a one shot advantage over Norway’s Lars Petter Brovold and Simon Wakefield of England.
Delamontagne, starting on the tenth tee, turned in three under par 33 having picked up shots at the 11th and 13th – as well as the 500 yard par five 16th - which he reduced to a drive and a pitching wedge such was the strength of the gusting winds on the Costa del Sol.
On the front nine, Delamontagne picked up another birdie at the first with a beautiful six iron approach that stopped inches from the cup, before dropping a shot on the fifth. Four more pars meant that the 25 year old added a 69 to his previous scores of 72 and 67 to post a three round aggregate of eight under par 208.
He said: “It was another good round today – it was much the same as yesterday in terms of difficulty with the wind but I played very, very well for the first nine until I got to the greens and my putting was poor. Then on the back nine I found it more difficult. I don’t know why that was, I don’t think that I played any worse but I made some bad decisions with distances.
“I was not thinking as well as I had done on my front nine. But my putting improved a lot on the back nine and I made a few important up and downs to keep my score going.
“It would be perfect if we could just stop now, but I cannot think like that. It would mean a lot for me to win here because the higher you finish here then the more chances you will get to play on the Tour at the start of the season which could be very important at the end of next year.”
Wakefield finished his third round with an uncharacteristic wobble. The Englishman had been consistency personified after bogeying the first hole of the Qualifying School Finals, posting a flawless second round 69 and then going 13 holes of the third round without giving anything away.
That all changed on the fifth hole (Wakefield’s 14th) of the New Course during the third round as the 30 year old took a double bogey six. He followed that up with two birdies in a row before another double bogey at the par three eighth meant that he had to settle for a one under par 71 for a three round total of seven under 209.
“It was an odd finish for me,” he confirmed. “At the fifth I hit a tee shot just down the right, didn’t see it bounce so I just assumed that it had hit the downslope and gone left but we couldn’t find it. But there was a big plantation on the right and a guy went up there and found it, so I hacked it out of there, thinned my approach and duffed the chip and two putted. I then made good birdies at the sixth and seventh and then on the eighth though I had hit a nice three iron but it started to turn and pitched on the back of the green and rolled into this hay stuff which is impossible to get out of. I took a swipe at it and luckily it popped out and I pitched to ten feet and two putted.
“It was disappointing but there was always a chance of making a couple of bogeys today. It was unfortunate to have two doubles but the fact that I still shot under par is a little credit to myself for getting myself back into it. I am still not out of the race – I am only one behind Francois and level with Lars Petter so it is all to play for.”
Brovold could not quite recapture the dazzling form that saw him card a brilliant 61 on the New Course during round two, but he still managed to produce a highly creditable 69 that included six birdies and three bogeys.
Englishman David Griffiths is three behind Brovold and Wakefield in fourth place, while Iceland’s Birgir Hafthorsson put together a sensational birdie-birdie-eagle finish to join the five strong group on three under par.
England’s Warren Bennett shot the lowest round of the week at San Roque’s Old Course, an excellent six under 66 to get back to two over par and move to a tie for 20th place. The 33 year old has struggled with a shoulder injury for the past year, but recaptured the kind of form that made him the 1999 Scottish PGA Championship winner to get back into contention to retain the Card he won at last years Finals.
There was disappointment for Scotland’s Euan Little, meanwhile, who was forced to retire after six holes of his third round due to a viral infection. Little looked well on the way to retaining the Card he won at last season’s Qualifying School Finals having started the day on two under par and as one of only eight players below par after two rounds. But the 28 year old was forced to retire after being quite literally floored by illness.
"I’m just absolutely gutted. I don’t know what exactly is wrong with me but I don’t think it is ‘flu, it feels more like some kind of urine infection or blood infection – I could feel it all around me, from my big toe to my last strand of hair. I am just absolutely aching."
