Dunbar sits out day two at Eisenhower
Alan Dunbar must stay hydrated after picking up a nasty bug in Turkey. Picture by Pat CashmanAlan Dunbar could yet help Ireland’s cause despite being forced to sit out the weather-delayed second round of the World Amateur Team Championship in steamy Turkey.
The reigning British Amateur champion was unable to take part in the Eisenhower Trophy for the second day in a row after picking up a nasty bug on his arrival at Antalya Golf Club in the Meditteranean resort of Belek.
With temperatures soaring into the high 80s F (30c), Dunbar will concentrate on staying hydrated before considering taking part in the third round.
The Rathmore man was well enough to play a few games of pool in the hotel today.
Electrical activity in the area delayed the second round by six hours on Friday morning and again late in the afternoon, meaning that only six of the 72 teams in the field completed play and just 48 got their second rounds underway. Scores
Twelves strokes behind the United States after the opening round, Ireland’s Kevin Phelan and Gavin Moynihan were still 12 adrift of the Americans after playing just 12 holes at the Cornelia Golf Club’s par-72 Faldo Course.
Florida-based Waterford Castle star Phelan picked up four shots on the front nine with birdies at the second, fourth, fifth and seventh before dropping his only shot of the day at the 11th.
Moynihan, the Irish Amateur Open champion from The Island, was one over par for the 12 holes played after mixing three birdies with two bogeys and a double bogey seven.
The Republic of Korea and Canada, who were also playing at Cornelia Golf Club, moved into second place at 10-under-par. Canada had recorded scores for all three players through 15 holes and Korea had scores through 12 holes.
USA, the first-round leader, had only three holes recorded by lead player Chris Williams, No.1 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), who birdied the 10th and 11th holes at the par-71 Antalya Golf Club, to move his team to 15-under.
Five teams in the top 10 on the leaderboard from the first round on Thursday did not play Friday. The teams with their positions from the first round are: Mexico in second, Netherlands and Spain tied for fourth, and Venezuela and Zimbabwe tied for seventh.
The World Amateur Team Championship is a biennial international amateur competition, begun in 1958. It is conducted by the International Golf Federation, which comprises national governing bodies of golf in 126 countries and international professional tours. The competition, which is being held for the 28th time, is rotated among three geographic zones: Asia-Pacific, Americas and Europe-Africa.
This year’s event is hosted by the Turkish Golf Federation. The teams play for the Eisenhower Trophy. The IGF is the international federation for golf for the International Olympic Committee and will conduct the Olympic golf competition in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
In each round, the total of the two lowest scores from each team constitutes the team score for the round. The four-day (72-hole) total is the team’s score for the championship.