McGee keeps cool as he closes in on Madrid victory chance
Nacho Elvira. Picture © Getty Images
Rosapenna's Ruaidhri McGee vowed to chill out and work on his putting after a super 68 left him tied at the top with home hero Nacho Elvira heading into the final round of the Challenge de Madrid.
The 24-year old four birdies in a bogey free effort at El Elcin Golf Hotel on the outskirts of the capital and while he was frustrated on the greens, he’s determined not to put himself under too much pressure after joining Elvira in taking a two-shot lead into Saturday’s final round.
“I started with a good birdie at the first, which settled me down a bit, and then I just parred my way round from there,” sad McGee. “It was really boring actually, just fairways and greens, until I got to nine and made a birdie.
“The back nine was pretty similar apart from a couple more birdies, so 14 pars and four birdies was pretty solid.
"I definitely left a few out there and I’m going to go now and put a little practice into my putting, and work on that for an hour or so and I should be OK.
“I just need to approach it the same as every day and see what happens. There is no point building it up to something really big, or you won’t be able to play properly, so I’ll just chill out and play it by ear.”
Madrid native Elvira, 28, carded four birdies and an eagle in an impressive first 11 holes to establish his advantage.
And despite being caught by McGee as his hot start cooled over the closing stretch, his second 66 of the week has him ideally placed at 16 under par.
This is by no means Elvira’s first rodeo when it comes to contending for titles on the second tier, having already tasted victory at the 2013 Foshan Open en route to graduating from the season-long Rankings that year in 14th place.
That earned him a maiden berth in The Race to Dubai last campaign, and despite finishing 121st for the year to narrowly lose his playing privileges, he is excited to put everything he has learned to good use in pursuit of a famous victory on home soil.
“It was pretty good out there today, and I started well as I was four under through seven,” said Elvira, who made 21 cuts from 32 starts on The European Tour in 2014.
“I was playing really well from the tees and into the green, and then on the back nine I made a birdie on ten and an eagle on 11, which was pretty good. From there I just wanted to hit a few fairways and find the greens and it worked out OK.
“I like the course, and I have been practicing here a little more recently than I used to. It fits my eye off the tee, and although there are plenty of bunkers, you just have to make sure you stay away from them. From there, you just need to find the right plateaus on the green, and I have liked it so far.
“I definitely learned a lot last year. I played a lot on the weekends, but I often didn’t play very well, and in this off-season I had a little more time than last year to get myself ready.
"I have worked with my trainer and my coach and I think I am on the right path, so I hope I can make it back.
“I will play as much on The European Tour as I can this year, but I will also play on the Challenge Tour, so it is going to be a long year.
“I am excited for tomorrow though, as I have my family and friends supporting me here, and it is always fun to play well on home soil. Hopefully I can play well tomorrow, and we’ll see what happens.”
Elvira will have McGee for company in the final round as the Irishman continued to play well in Madrid, despite the added pressure of playing on a medical extension in the early part of the season.
The 24 year old is as laid back as they come, seemingly unfazed by his lofty position, and if he continues to play as he has so far – having signed for a 68 on day three – then he could well upset the home support with a maiden triumph of his own on Saturday.
Chocco back-to-back 67 in R3 and hangs loose for Saturday ! Good luck! @sthorntongolf @IrishGolferMag @TRENDYGOLF pic.twitter.com/bpkNfCgqlr
— golffile (@golffile) April 24, 2015Simon Thornton fired a 67 to move up 20 spots to joint 20th on eight under but Peter Lawrie fell 12 spots to 29th on seven under after a 71.
Challenge de Madrid (after 36 holes)
200 Ruaidhri McGee (Irl) 65 67 68, N Elvira (Esp) 66 68 66,
202 R Gouveia (Por) 66 68 68,
203 S Soderberg (Swe) 67 66 70,
204 A Tadini (Ita) 70 68 66, S Gros (Fra) 65 70 69,
205 A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 64 73 68, P Oriol (Esp) 69 69 67,
206 B Stone (RSA) 69 67 70, F Calmels (Fra) 71 70 65, P Maddy (Eng) 68 71 67, D Foos (Ger) 67 68 71, J Sarasti (Esp) 66 66 74,
207 A McArthur (Sco) 67 72 68, P Whiteford (Sco) 71 70 66, J Lima (Por) 73 67 67, C Hanson (Eng) 68 70 69, S Manley (Wal) 70 68 69, B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 71 65 71,
208 S Walker (Eng) 70 68 70, V Riu (Fra) 71 70 67, C Paisley (Eng) 70 71 67, B Evans (Eng) 73 67 68, R Kellett (Sco) 67 70 71, C Berardo (Fra) 70 70 68, J Walters (RSA) 72 70 66, E Saltman (Sco) 70 66 72, Simon Thornton (Irl) 74 67 67,
209 M Trappel (Aut) 68 69 72, J Gonnet (Fra) 72 69 68, C Gloet (Den) 70 68 71, Peter Lawrie (Irl) 68 70 71, P Martin Benavides (Esp) 69 71 69, J Lara (Esp) 68 73 68, J Glennemo (Swe) 67 69 73, A Hortal (Esp) 73 69 67, C Aguilar (Esp) 69 72 68, P Figueiredo (Por) 69 67 73,
210 J Senior (Eng) 70 69 71, S Fallon (Eng) 69 69 72, A Saddier (Fra) 70 69 71, N Ravano (Ita) 66 75 69, L Nemecz (Aut) 73 67 70, M Jonzon (Swe) 65 73 72, M Lafeber (Ned) 73 68 69, B Stow (Eng) 71 71 68,
211 T Sluiter (Ned) 71 71 69, E Cuartero Blanco (Esp) 67 75 69, G Porteous (Eng) 69 72 70, M Delpodio (Ita) 70 72 69, M Wiegele (Aut) 74 68 69, J McLeary (Sco) 70 71 70,
212 J Dantorp (Swe) 71 71 70, G Maybin (Nir) 71 71 70, J Fahrbring (Swe) 68 70 74, G Murray (Sco) 70 67 75, J Stalter (Fra) 73 69 70, R Kakko (Fin) 68 72 72, J Garcia Del Moral (Esp) 70 70 72,
213 D Gaunt (Eng) 70 69 74, E Larrañaga (Esp) 75 67 71, S Tiley (Eng) 69 70 74, W Booth (Sco) 73 69 71, J Gallegos (Esp) 71 71 71, A Gee (Eng) 69 73 71, P Archer (Eng) 72 70 71,
214 L Gagli (Ita) 71 71 72,
215 J Huldahl (Den) 75 67 73,
217 H Satama (Fin) 70 72 75,
218 N Kimsey (Eng) 70 72 76, W Harrold (Eng) 68 74 76.
