Volvo China Open. Broomstick Brett Anchor’s Himself Atop the Leaderboard

Broomstick Brett Rumford has anchored himself to the top of the leaderboard at  the Volvo China Open.

Brett Rumford / Getty Images

Brett Rumford completed his third round in the windy conditions at Binhai Lake Golf Course in -3 under par 69, to take a one shot lead at the Volvo China Open, with his total score of -12 under par.

Brett admitted it had been a very tough day, but he remained bogey free;

” That was a tough day, I really started to feel things on the back nine. I did really well to hang in nicely with some tired golf swings, I mentally stayed with it, physically not so much but mentally I hung in there. The wind was really starting to dry things out so you’ve got to be very precise.”

Mikko Ilonen, the overnight leader, started the day three shots clear, but pulled a three-foot par putt at the first hole and then saw his lead diminish to one when Kiradech Aphibarnrat birdied the long second hole. He finally succumbed to the pressure when his tee shot at the last hole found the water, resulting in a bogey finish.

” It was a good fight out there, his short game today was incredible, and his confidence is obviously very high, especially on the greens, so I’m going to have to play very well to beat him tomorrow. It’s good to be in the final group tomorrow. In Morocco earlier in the season, I had a bad round on the Saturday and dropped out of the last group. So I’m pleased with the way I ground out a score today, even though I didn’t maybe play my best golf.”

Pablo Larrazábal very briefly joined the leaders with an absolutely sensational run of four straight birdies, starting at the tenth hole, but amazingly managed to miss a couple of short par putts, and finished with a 69,  that leaves him two shots back in third place.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat had four birdies on the day, only to match it with four bogeys, to finish the round at level par 72, with a total score of -9 under par, three shots off the lead in  fourth spot.

If the wind continues to blow tomorrow, expect Brett to anchor his way to another victory.

Volvo China Open. Magical Mikko In Front by Three.

A magical round of -9 under par, 63 has put Mikko Ilonen three shots clear of the field at the Volvo China Open.

Mikko Ilonen / Getty Images

Mikko put together a stunning second round at the Binhai Lake Golf Course to give himself a three shot breathing space between himself and second placed Brett Rumford and Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Amazingly the two-time Tour winner managed to throw in a bogey on the round, at the 17th hole. Mikko now has a tournament total of -12 under par, with Brett and Kiradech sitting three behind on -9 under par.

Mikko reported that it had been a stress free round, with good putting being the key;

“I hit the ball better than yesterday, I gave myself a few more chances on the greens, especially on the back nine, and managed to take quite a few of them, so it was a very stress-free round today. I didn’t put myself in any trouble at all, which is always nice, and it’s nice to be three ahead going into the weekend. I’ve had a couple of other 63′s on the Tour before, but it’s difficult to compare. For example, I may have played better and only shot a 69. I’ve probably struck the ball better this year, but I don’t think I’ve putted better. It’s a good number of birdies definitely, I felt really good with my putter.”

Aussie Brett, who won last week, is enjoying his time in the limelight;

” This is a new week and another tournament. I feel good, my fitness is good and my energy levels feel nice and high, so hopefully I can ride the wave over the weekend and keep the good feelings going. It’s a nice feeling when you’re holing putts and seeing your name up near the top of the leaderboard. You’ve got to make the most of these moments when they come along, and I’m managing to do that at the minute.”

Thai Kiradech is full of confidence with his driver;

” My driver has done very well for the first two days, when you have the chance to hit it long and get on the greens in regulation then you have a good chance to do well. I think I made 17 greens today. I plan to play as much as I can in Europe this year. Winning in Malaysia gave me a lot of confidence, and I hope to keep that as I carry on this year. I will always try to do my best.”

The overnight leader of the tournament, Robert-Jan Derksen was a shot further back in fourth spot after a second round of -2 under par,70.  Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal and England’s Lee Slattery shared fifth place on -7 under par.

Missing the cut here at the Volvo China Open was the 12 year-old amateur Chinese player and Tour debutant Ye Wo-cheng, to his credit at +14 over par he was not the last player in the field. By complete contrast, sixteen year-old amateur Dou Ze-cheng not only made the cut, at -2 under par, but to the delight of the home crowd is the leading Chinese player in the Tournament.

Trophée Hassan II. Marcel Marches On

Marcel Siem has taken control of the  Trophée Hassan II in Morocco, as he marches towards a much needed victory and his coveted place in the Masters.

Marcel Siem / Getty Images

Marcel had a third round of  -3 under par 69, to lead the Trophée Hassan II by four shots with a total of -15 under par, and is now in position to win the tournament on Sunday. He needs a victory at Golf du Palais Royal to give himself a chance of climbing into the Official World Golf Ranking’s top 50, just in the nick of time for an Augusta National invite.

Marcel was not too happy with the end of his round, he said he was happy until the 15th;

” Until the 15th I was really happy with the round, I got over a tough start with tough conditions and all the guys just behind me seemed to start really well and almost caught me up. I had to hole a few big putts just to stay ahead and then I managed to pull away a little bit. But then 15 and 17 were disappointing because you are really looking to pick up a couple of shots there but I managed to give one away. There was pressure there so it was great to make a few putts and pick up four in six holes. It is very nice to have the gap back for the start of the final round tomorrow. I am pretty confident at the moment so I know the swing is there when I trust it and just let it go. That will be very important tomorrow.”

Four shots back and tied in second place at -11 under par are Pablo Larrazabal, from Spain, England’s David Horsey and Mikko Ilonen from Finland.

Mikko was also unhappy with his poor finish to his third round;

“I think the momentum changed a lot on 11 when I had the penalty shot for the ball moving at address, I still made four, but after that I hit good and bad shots and I think that affected me. The one thing I did well throughout the day was putt well so I was really pleased with that. I am four back and would rather be a little bit closer but we have three guys four behind that can catch him but one of us will have to go really low tomorrow and I think the golf course will allow that. I have made enough birdies and eagles to know I can do it, but I just have to avoid the mistakes.”

There is no one else that can catch these four, and it looks like this tournament is Marcel’s to lose.

European Tour. Trophée Hassan II. Marvelous Marcel

The marvelous golf of German Marcel Siem kept him at the top of the leaderboard at the  Trophée Hassan II competition in Morocco on the European Tour.

Marcel Siem / GettyImages

Marcel needs a win here at the Trophée Hassan II, to stand any chance of climbing into the Official World Golf Ranking’s top 50 and earn himself a debut Masters Tournament appearance next month. His second round of -4  under par 68 keeps him on top of the leaderboard, and maintains a comfortable three shot lead over the field.

Marcel admitted that his round could have been better, but he still has the Masters appearance in his sights and actually hopes the wind does get up a little bit because he enjoys the challenge;

“ I think it should have been better than it was to be honest, the bogeys on four and seven were a bit weird because I was in the middle of the fairway there. But otherwise, this course is always tricky and I should accept the 68 because it’s always nice to go under par after such a low round the day before because that can be quite difficult to follow up on sometimes. I actually hope the wind blows a little bit more because I actually enjoy the challenge of playing into the wind and it would also keep the guys behind me away from me because if there is no wind out there then people can go very low around this course.”

David Horsey remains in second place at -9 under par, tied alongside Mikko Ilonen. David had a -5 under par 67, while Mikko took a big leap up the leaderboard with his round of -6 under par 66.

Alone in third spot is Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal after his sudden surge up the leaderboard with his wonderful -8 under par 64 around the Golf du Palais Royal course.

BMW Italian Open, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano Wins

                                                  Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano/Getty Images

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño  finished with an -8 under par round of 64, and a BMW Italian Open  score of -24 under par total to hold off the challenge of Garth Mulroy to win by two shots.

Sunday’s final pairing were neck-and-neck for much of the final round, but Garth unfortunately suffered a  5-5 finish, which ultimately proved decisive at Royal Park I Roveri in Turin. Although Gonzalo was happy with the win he was still disappointed at not making the European Ryder Cup team;

“Not making the Ryder Cup was disappointing, I had a victory, two second-placed finishes and one third, and it hasn’t been good enough. It’s tough. You have to play well in the big events, and that’s what I didn’t do this year unfortunately. I have talked to Olly about The Ryder Cup many, many times. I can laugh about it now, but it hasn’t been easy. I just needed to believe in myself and put The Ryder Cup out of my head, which I’ve done this week. I changed my schedule a little, I normally travel on a Tuesday but I arrived here on Wednesday, mainly because I wanted to see the kids start school. It was a completely different frame of mind for the week. I didn’t know the course, so everything was new to me. I just followed my caddie’s instructions and it worked. The main thing was my attitude. I didn’t get to frustrated out there or try too hard. I just let it happen. It felt like match play out there and I’m delighted to have come out on top, it feels very special to win this tournament again. I thought maybe 22 under par would have been good enough, but the way Garth and I were playing it was crazy. We kept holing putt after putt and it had a match play feel, which was fun. I have to congratulate him because he has played great. We had a great battle.”

Garth Mulroy’s last round of -5 under par  67 was enough to finish two shots clear in second place, with Gregory Bourdy and home favourite Matteo Manassero sharing third after matching 65′s and a tournament total of -20 under par. Garth said he felt he played well;

“I played well, but Gonzo’s putter was a little hot for me today, we were making birdie after birdie and it was fun. The 17th got me in the end there, but I’m happy and I played well. He went through a seven hole stretch where he made six birdies. It forces the other player to make birdies too. The last two days have been very fun.”

Nicolas Colsaerts finished in a share of fifth with Medinah bound teammate Martin Kaymer, Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal and England’s Gary Boyd. Nicolas said he is in good shape and playing well ahead of the Ryder Cup at Medinah;

“I feel pretty good, I had a fantastic start which was just what I wanted, to go deep under par after only a few holes. Two bad swings broke my momentum, and on a course like this where everyone makes birdies everywhere, momentum is very important and it feels like you’re losing ground. But I finished well again, which was what I wanted. It helps being able to go through the week in a very cool, calm way, without thinking about qualifying for The Ryder Cup. My goal was to play these two events and to keep going, keep playing and keep the good dynamic I’ve had all year. I wish I could’ve done a little better here, but it’s fulfilled the goal of continuing to play well before going to Medinah. I have a lot of good vibes.”

Gary Boyd produced the shot of the day when he holed his six iron second shot to the eighth green for an albatross, his spectacular round of 63 propels him into the top 115 on The Race to Dubai, and serves as a timely boost to his hopes of keeping his card;

“That’s probably the best I’ve ever played in my career. It was a nice start and then I really got the round going with an albatross at the eighth. At that point I was thinking that maybe I was back in the tournament with a chance to win. There’s a lot of pressure at this time of year and to have practically got over the line this week, with still a few tournaments to go, is a good feeling.”

Reale Seguros Open de España. Molinari Wins

                                                                                                                                      

Francesco Molinari (Getty Images)

Francesco Molinari shot a brilliant closing round of -7 under par and 65, and a tournament total of -8, to win the Reale Seguros Open de España, his  third European Tour title. The overnight leader Simon Dyson could only manage a 76 , and that after birdies at the first two holes, Francesco produced the best round of the week, here in Seville, Spain. With seven birdies in the first 14 holes followed by four closing pars gave the 29 year old the first prize of more than €333,330.

Francesco knew he just needed some putts to drop;

“I knew I was playing well. I just needed some putts to drop. I was also hoping the other guys would not go too far under par and everything worked out perfectly. The first leaderboard I saw where I was leading was on 12, but they had a few more birdie chances than me and so I knew I needed a couple more.”

This win moves Francesco back into the world’s top 30, but he is still not in a qualifying position for this year’s Ryder Cup, he commented;

 ”I just have to play the same golf a few more weeks and hopefully I will be there.  Everybody is desperate to make the team, but unfortunately for us there are only 12 spots. It’s going to be hard, there are a lot of great players in Europe at the moment.”

In this kind of form Francesco Molinari would be a great asset to the Ryder Cup Team.

Tied in second spot, three shots adrift of the leader were, Alejandro Canizares, Soren Kjeldsen and Pablo Larrazabal. Local favorite Jorge Campillo finished with a tournament score of -3 under par, and five shots off the winning total.

Reale Seguros Open de España in Seville, 3rd round, Dyson leads

Simon Dyson (Getty Images)

Simon Dyson leads the Reale Seguros Open de España in Seville after the third round. The highest-ranked player in the field, took over at the top in the rain-delayed third round, there was a delay of nearly two hours to clear flooded greens and bunkers. Simon holds a one shot lead over Pablo Larrazabal in the rain affected third round, completing a round 0f -1 under par 71.

Gregory Bourdy the overnight leader sadly three-putted the first and third holes of his third round, while Robert Rock  bogeyed the opening three holes. Young  Italian Matteo Manassero  bogeyed the second and dropped three more strokes at the fourth after driving into a bush.

The local favorite Jorge Campillo is only two shots behind and is still seriously involved in this competition, and with Pablo also well placed carry the hopes of Spain for a Spanish winner to the tournament.

Robert Rock and Matteo Manassero have fallen back and are at level par for the tournament and at best are now vying for the minor places, unless the leaders really make a mess of their last round.

The final round tomorrow should be an exciting day for players and spectators alike, just bring on the sunshine.