Higgins on Q-School pressure: "You only have one chance"
Stand and deliver. Niall Kearney rips a great drive down the first on the Stadium Course in the third round of the European Tour Qualifying School final stage at PGA Catalunya Resort.Simon Thornton loves the challenge but David Higgins believes you’d have to be mad to say you enjoy the experience of battling for you livelihood in the marathon European Tour Qualifying School.
The Waterville man was “slightly disappointed” only to card a two under 68 in yesterday’s third round at the PGA Catalunya Resort. (Leaderboard)
But unlike Thornton and the rest of the Irish hopefuls who are outside the top 70 who make the 72-hole cut today, 39-year old Higgins is sitting pretty in joint 11th in the six-round race for 25 precious cards.
“Simon’s telling you lies,” Higgins said with a grin. “It’s why you play golf, yes, for the pressure of competing. But you can’t enjoy this.
“If you had 20 goes at Tour School, you would be a lot freer and you would enjoy it. But you only have one chance. There is pressure on every single shot.
“You do it because you want to put yourself in pressure situations. But while in a normal event you can go for it and still have next week, every shot this week you are just making sure you are not making a mess of it.”
Higgins got off to the perfect start when he hit a seven iron to 10 feet at the par-five 10th on the shorter Tour Course and rolled in the putt for eagle.
He was tied for second place at that stage but ended up playing the remaining holes in level par to finish the day six shots behind leader Estanislao Goya of Argentina on seven under par.
“I was unlucky to bogey my 16th and I missed two good chances coming in so I’m slightly disappointed,” Higgins said. “But we’re alright. Three rounds down and three to go on the Stadium Course now. I just have to dig in, that’s all you can do.”
Ballymena’s Chris Devlin is two strokes outside the top 70 on three over par after getting overly aggressive on the greens and three-putting four times in a one over 71 on the Tour Course yesterday.
He opened with three bogeys, dropped another shot at the sixth before coming back with three birdies in a row from the ninth. However, he three-putted the 13th before finishing with a birdie four.
Tied for 79th, Devlin said: “I had a bunch of three putts on the front nine and three putted 13 and just got too aggressive, leaving myself three or four footers down the hill.
“I felt like I was hitting good putts but have holed nothing again. I three putted four times today trying to force it and it’s a setback. I’ve got to show more patience and do it the right way.
“I feel like I have a good round in me but I just haven’t played well. I am due a good round. It’s been one good round that has got me through the first two stages so there’s no reason why I can’t do it again.
As for Thornton, the Royal County Down man finally sprang to life with three late birdies getting him to two under for the day before he lost a ball off the ninth tee on the Stadium Course and signed for a 72 that leaves him three shots outside the mark on four over.
“I just hit a bad shot on the wrong hole,” he said of his double bogey finish. “If I had parred or birdied the last, I’d have been fine. But I still have a chance.
“I need four, five or six under tomorrow on the Tour Course to get back into it and after that, anything can happen.”
While Higgins joked that he’s telling fibs, Thornton insisted that he loves the challenge of the Q-School, where he won his card in 2009.
“The last day is something special when you are in amongst it,” he said. “You sort of realise who you are in a way. What is the point of playing professional sport otherwise?
“I wouldn’t say I want to play it every year, but if you are not good enough to get through here you are not good enough to play on tour.”
Dubliner Niall Kearney needs the blade to warm up after putting poorly again for a 74 that leaves him three shots outside the cut mark on five over.
“I played well but putted awful again,” Kearney said. “I got off to a good start, two under early and bogeyed two in a row, missed a short one of the second birdied the third and three putted the sixth and bogeyed the last. Terrible.
“I need three or four under (on the Tour Course) tomorrow. I’m playing well enough, just not getting the ball in the hole.”
Douglas’ Peter O’Keeffe could need a 63 on the Tour Course to stay alive after a 77 on the Stadium Course severely dented his hopes of winning a full Challenge Tour card.
Two under after three holes, he played the rest of his front nine in seven over but knows he can score well on the shorter course today after cruising to a facile 65 there on Sunday.
Estanislao Goya has a two stroke lead with three rounds to go at the Qualifying School. Picture ©Getty Images“I made a great start - two under after three but then dropped seven shots in six holes. I just struggled off the tee at the end of the back nine, lost a ball on 17 and made a triple. I made careless bogeys by getting out of position.
“I need a really low one tomorrow but I shot 65 on the tour course on Sunday and it fits my eye so I will be going for it. I’ll have a category on the Challenge Tour next year but I want to better it.
“My PGA training at Muskerry is the priority but if there was any possible way of doing both, we would have to try and work something out.”
Lurgan’s Gareth Shaw, meanwhile, is 148th on 14 over after a 74 but still two shots better than former European Tour winners Nick Dougherty and Anton Haig.
As for leader Goya, he continued his relentless form with a flying finish capping a flawless 64 on Monday to stretch his lead to two as the marathon examination reached its halfway point, writes the European Tour.
Playing the more straightforward Tour Course after an overnight re-draw, Goya found close to his best form in the third round to stay clear of a number of challengers throughout the day, including Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg and Italy’s Matteo Delpodio, who both shot five under par 65.
Mikko Korhonen and 20-year old German Moritz Lampert - the match winner for Continental Europe in the St Andrews Trophy at Portmarnock in August - are a shot further back, and all four challengers led at some stage on what was an intriguing day in northern Spain.
With conditions predicted to deteriorate from Tuesday onwards - heavy rain was falling late on Monday evening - before the field is cut to 70 and ties after the fourth round, all 156 competitors knew that a low score on Monday could prove crucial, and Goya, the 2009 Madeira Islands Open Champion and leader by one overnight, set about his task with focus and resolve despite not reaping much early reward.
After starting with a birdie at the par five tenth hole – his first – Goya stayed patient as ten straight pars preceded a storming finish in which the 24 year old made a second gain at the par four third, while four birdies in his last five holes helped the Cordoba man reach 13 under par for the tournament.
“I played very well again, especially on the front nine, which was my back nine,” said Goya, who has only dropped three shots all week. “I started a bit slowly and the first nine holes were a little frustrating. I was hitting greens but not really close enough and wasn’t making putts.
“I started to play really well after the turn and the birdie at the third – my 12th – gave me a big boost. Then I finished with four birdies in the last five holes which was excellent. I’m really pleased with how I finished.”
The majority of those in contention will take on the more demanding Stadium Course in Tuesday’s fourth round, before 36 final nail-biting holes on the 7,333-yard layout will determine the fate of the 25 cards on offer for The 2013 European Tour International Schedule.
European Tour Qualifying School
PGA Catalunya Resort, Girona - Stadium Course Par 72, Tour Course Par 70
After 54 holes:
199 E Goya (Arg) 64 71 64;
201 M Lundberg (Swe) 68 68 65; M Delpodio (Ita) 67 69 65;
202 M Korhonen (Fin) 74 62 66; M Lampert (am) (Ger) 70 67 65;
203 A Sullivan (Eng) 71 67 65; R McEvoy (Eng) 67 72 64;
204 A Snobeck (Fra) 69 67 68; G Orr (Sco) 67 69 68; J Lagergren (Swe) 71 66 67;
205 P Hedblom (Swe) 70 69 66; P Erofejeff (Fin) 72 67 66; D Higgins (Irl) 73 64 68; S Little (Eng) 70 68 67; E De La Riva (Esp) 70 70 65;
206 J Parry (Eng) 71 71 64;
207 M Southgate (Eng) 72 70 65; G Murray (Sco) 66 71 70; O Floren (Swe) 71 66 70; S Arnold (Aus) 67 73 67; J Lima (Por) 76 67 64; M Glauert (Ger) 73 70 64; J Hugo (RSA) 71 72 64; M Nixon (Eng) 68 72 67; B An (Kor) 69 72 66;
208 C Kim (USA) 73 66 69; S Strange (Aus) 75 67 66; B Åkesson (Swe) 70 72 66; A Forsyth (Sco) 75 65 68; H Bacher (Aut) 74 68 66; C Macaulay (Sco) 71 71 66; D Im (USA) 72 66 70; M Madsen (Den) 78 66 64;
209 D Griffiths (Eng) 67 72 70; J Glennemo (Swe) 72 69 68; L Jensen (Den) 70 74 65; C Del Moral (Esp) 70 71 68; C Brazillier (Fra) 69 74 66; A Domingo (Esp) 70 70 69; J Timmis (Eng) 74 69 66; M Jonzon (Swe) 74 69 66; F Calmels (Fra) 72 72 65; M Sell (Eng) 74 67 68; A Marshall (Eng) 75 67 67;
210 J McLeary (Sco) 69 72 69; C Lloyd (Eng) 73 69 68; T Van Der Walt (RSA) 71 69 70; R Davies (Wal) 68 74 68; J Ruth (Eng) 70 71 69; B Ritthammer (Ger) 69 71 70; D Gaunt (Aus) 74 68 68; T Murray (Eng) 68 72 70;
211 M Crespi (Ita) 72 68 71; D Vancsik (Arg) 75 68 68; S Norris (RSA) 68 72 71; T Remkes (Ned) 71 72 68; A Johnansson (Swe) 76 67 68; A Levy (Fra) 68 72 71; J Howarth (Eng) 75 67 69; T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 69 71 71; Å Nilsson (Swe) 74 69 68;
212 W Besseling (Ned) 69 73 70; S Benson (Eng) 75 70 67;
213 M Brier (Aut) 71 69 73; L Goddard (Eng) 72 71 70; N Ravano (Ita) 74 70 69; S Tiley (Eng) 77 67 69; D Perrier (Fra) 73 71 69;
214 S Drummond (Sco) 76 68 70; S Whiffin (Eng) 75 70 69; W Bennett (Eng) 77 67 70; F Bergamaschi (Ita) 76 68 70;
215 S Hutsby (Eng) 74 68 73; G Clark (Eng) 78 67 70; O Wilson (Eng) 75 68 72; C Monasterio (Arg) 72 72 71; C Devlin (Nir) 71 73 71; S Dodd (Wal) 77 70 68;
216 A Rota (Ita) 74 69 73; D Brooks (Eng) 71 74 71; B Henson (USA) 76 68 72; O Bekker (RSA) 73 72 71; O Lieser (Cze) 74 70 72;
217 B Dredge (Wal) 70 75 72; T Haylock (Eng) 74 72 71; B Koepka (USA) 73 71 73;
218 N Floren (Swe) 80 67 71; L Kennedy (Eng) 73 71 74; A McArthur (Sco) 80 67 71; S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 73 70 75; J Huldahl (Den) 76 70 72; S Hong (Kor) 71 74 73; R McGowan (Eng) 77 71 70; P Edberg (Swe) 72 75 71; S Thornton (Irl) 71 75 72;
219 N Kearney (Irl) 73 72 74; G Boyd (Eng) 76 70 73; L Bond (Wal) 76 69 74; M Haastrup (Den) 72 75 72; T Pilkadaris (Aus) 75 73 71; D Dixon (Eng) 72 74 73; G Cambis (Fra) 73 78 68; D Kemmer (USA) 79 66 74;
220 A Hansen (Den) 71 74 75; A Otaegui (Esp) 77 70 73; D Frittelli (RSA) 76 70 74; R Russell (Sco) 73 72 75; R Hjelm (Den) 77 71 72; K Pratt (Aus) 72 75 73; R Kakko (Fin) 74 70 76; S Jeppesen (Swe) 78 71 71; D Huizing (Ned) 70 81 69; J Barnes (Eng) 77 69 74; R Karlberg (Swe) 75 73 72; J Watts (Eng) 77 68 75; R Blizard (Aus) 75 69 76; Z Scotland (Eng) 76 72 72;
221 J Scrivener (Aus) 77 69 75; C Suneson (Esp) 74 75 72; W Booth (Sco) 77 71 73; M Zions (Aus) 74 73 74; P Broadhurst (Eng) 74 74 73; M Siddikur (Ban) 75 73 73;
222 P Uihlein (USA) 75 77 70; J Harding (RSA) 74 74 74; S Kim (Kor) 78 67 77; J Bäckström (Swe) 77 72 73; K Borsheim (Nor) 78 71 73; P Maddy (Eng) 78 72 72; A Saddier (am) (Fra) 80 65 77;
223 M Tunnicliff (Eng) 74 72 77; K Ferrie (Eng) 80 71 72; S Fallon (Eng) 73 72 78; J Sandelin (Swe) 75 72 76; N Schietekat (RSA) 70 75 78; M Lorenzo-Vera (Fra) 74 74 75; P O’Keefe (Ire) 81 65 77; T Sluiter (Ned) 81 68 74;
224 G Stal (Fra) 81 70 73;
225 C Aguilar (Esp) 77 71 77; S Walker (Eng) 74 73 78;
226 J Grillon (Fra) 72 77 77; I Pyman (Eng) 76 71 79; J Lerchedahl (Den) 76 75 75; J Jeong (Kor) 80 66 80;
227 P Archer (Eng) 80 72 75; O Henningsson (Swe) 79 74 74; P Martin (Esp) 81 69 77;
228 G Shaw (Nir) 81 73 74; M Grönberg (Swe) 75 75 78;
229 J Gallegos (am) (Esp) 80 76 73;
230 A Haig (RSA) 76 72 82; N Dougherty (Eng) 80 73 77; C Aronsen (Nor) 74 80 76;
231 O Rozner (am) (Fra) 74 76 81;
236 D Wuensche (Ger) 86 76 74