Syme leads as three Irish make Celtic Manor cut
Scotland’s Connor Syme. Picture: Getty Images
Scotland’s Connor Syme shot 70 in high winds at Celtic Manor Resort to lead by two shots from a six-man group on six-under in the European Tour’s ISPS Handa Wales Open.
Cormac Sharvin shot 71 to make the cut with a shot to spare three-over as Paul Dunne shot 72 and Jonathan Caldwell a 74 to eventually survive on the four-over mark.
However, Gavin Moynihan’s 70 was one shot too many and the Portrane man has now missed five in a row.
Syme (25), who recorded his best result of the season courtesy of a tie for third at last week's Celtic Classic, over the same Twenty Ten Course, continued in that vein as he followed up his five-under opening 66 with a 70 in testing conditions.
Syme had the tougher morning draw, teeing it up in strong wind and rain at the 2010 Ryder Cup venue, and fought hard to reach the turn in one over par. Three birdies on the way home, including his second of the week at the difficult par-five final hole, took him back under par and moved him two clear on a six-under total.
There were six players in a share of second place on four under, including two-time European Tour winner Li Haotong of China and first-round co-leader Jordan Smith of England.
Player Quotes
Connor Syme: “That was brutal, to be honest. I thought yesterday was tough but going through what we went through there, we got quite lucky yesterday to be honest. It was a real grind, that was some of the hardest conditions I’ve played in.
“Practicing on the putting green, it was moving a lot so I wasn’t sure if we were going to get started, but I’m delighted with 70 today.
“I don’t really feel like I had my best stuff but it’s hard in the wind. I just really trusted my pace putting to be honest. Although both my bogeys were three-putts it was one of those days where you’re just trying to find the green, and missing it on the correct side was key to be honest. So I really trusted my pace putting, holed a couple of nice ones but that was the key to a solid score in that wind."
Jordan Smith: “I feel like I’ve been out there all week. It was borderline out there with how quick the greens were and with the wind. But you’ve got to deal with it and get on and that’s what we did and managed to grind out a score.
“With the exposed greens, the way the wind was whipping across – Matt and I were ten feet for eagle and all we were doing was trying to get it down there and get it close as well can, not even thinking about holing it.
“It was just one of those days and I’m happy to be in and to be at one over for today. I knew it was going to be a battle and it was. I managed to control the ball flight really well and when I did manage to get in any bad spots, I managed to get out."
Li Haotong: “We got quite lucky, teeing off late and missing that rain in the morning. It was still a tough round and especially the first few holes. I hit it close a lot and had a lot of birdie chances, and putting is hard today, so I’m very happy with this score.
“Today all the par threes I played really well compared to yesterday because I’ve been working a lot on my low shots after yesterday. Yesterday they kept pulling left, so it’s good to see I’m getting paid back for that work. I think I just need to be more clear mentally before I hit a shot and just play solid at the weekend.”
