Late birdies fuel Levermore's BMW bid
24/05/2013
Jason Levermore illuminated the gloom at Wentworth last night with a smile that was in keeping with his high-octane finish to a rain-ravaged second round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.The smile, accompanied by cheers from his group of hardy and enthusiastic supporters, followed the PGA Professional’s final putt that confirmed his qualification for the business end of the tournament.
That the 33-year-old secured his ticket for last two rounds for the second time in three years, however, does not do his performance justice.
Defying wind, rain and the cold, the pro from Channels Golf Club in Essex, did so in style by signing off with three successive birdies to a post a two-under-par round of 70.
That left him four strokes adrift of tournament leader Francesco Molinari and four clear of the cut off point that meant the likes of Rory McIlroy, defending champion Luke Donald, and Ian Poulter will take no further part in proceedings.
It also meant that Levermore, who booked his place at Wentworth by finishing tenth in the Titleist PGA Play-offs, is one of just two PGA Professionals who will compete over the weekend.
Joining him in the shake up is Scotland’s Greig Hutcheon who followed up his level par first round with one of two over.
Given an inauspicious start that saw the man from Banchory bogey the first three holes before his short game came to the rescue, extending his involvement in the tournament appeared an unlikely scenario.
“I had a bad start but how difficult was it today,” he said. “It was unbelievably difficult - wet clubface, wet ball, drives squirting into the rough. You can’t play this golf course from the rough.
“Thankfully, I made a couple of unbelievable up and downs. One on the front nine after I’d driven into a fairway bunker on hole six was thanks to a flop shot.
“Then I’ve just got up and down at 16 from what seemed a hopeless position. I was behind a tree off the tee then I had a shocking lie on a walkaway and had about two feet of green to work with. Again, the flop shot was perfect and I holed out for par. I followed up by a 20-footer at 17 for birdie and made par on the last. So while I didn’t play that well, I’m delighted to make the cut.”
Likewise Levermore who avoided any such dramas, aside from back to back bogeys at eight and nine.
“Apart from that I went along nicely,” he said. “Yesterday I was a bit up and down but today I was very solid and hit it well. I’m glad to be here for the weekend and looking to improve on the last time I made the cut two years ago.
“If I can have two more rounds like I did today and play like I did today, there’s no reason why I can’t earn myself a decent cheque.”
Levermore and the other 70 contesting the final two rounds will be hoping for more benign weather conditions than those that blighted the second day.
"It was awful,” he added. “It was freezing and I haven’t got much meat on me so I was shivering most of the way round.”
Paul Streeter, who finished on seven-over for two rounds and was one of the eight PGA Professionals who did not make the cut, was similarly critical of the weather.
“That was horrible out there,” said the pro from Lincoln Golf Centre. “It was probably as nasty as conditions as I’ve ever played in.
“It was cold, it was wet, it was windy and I didn’t play well. But even though it was tough, I got off to a great start – made a great par at the first in torrential rain and holed a bunker shot at the third to birdie it. Then I birdied the fourth and I was thinking what a great start.
“The weather didn’t help but I didn’t play well after that. It was also slow out there. You were standing for two or three minutes at a time and it was cold.
“It was frustrating because I putted better today – I felt more comfortable with the putter but my iron play was very poor. But I’ve got complaints about it. I’ll just try and get back here next year.”
