Perfect 10 for early birds
03/10/2013
It was a perfect 10 for early birds Jon Bevan (right) and Mark Sheppard (left) as they opened up a three-shot advantage at the Golfbreaks.com PGA Fourball Championship at Forest Pines.
A rousing finale to their second round, which saw the duo cover the last four holes in five-under, saw them post a 10-under-par 63 and move to 17-under for the BMW-supported tournament.
Their tally, there to be shot at all day as they were in the second group out, gives them a comfortable cushion heading into the final day of the £28,750 championship, however there is a strong chasing pack looking to hunt them down.
A quartet of pairs share second place on 14-under-par, with a further two teams a shot further back in a share for sixth.
The leaders had a flawless round, opening their account with the first of eight birdies on the third, courtesy of Bevan. Sheppard added two more on four and five before Bevan added a fourth on the ninth.
Darland-based Sheppard chalked up another at the 10th but it was not until the 15th that they burst into life, with Rhos-on-Sea Professional Bevan doing the majority of the damage with two birdies and an eagle at the 17th, holing out from 70-yards. Sheppard weighed in with a birdie at the par three 16th.
Bevan said: “We struggled to get up this morning and started slow but then built, built, built. Mark played fantastically well and I just came in at the end with a great finish, so we’re very happy.
“I holed it from 70 yards on the 17th for eagle and birdied the last. The last hole here is a brute and with Mark making a birdie on 16, which is a strong par three, we couldn’t have asked for a better finish.
“Now, it’s more about being in with a shout come tomorrow. There’s some fantastic players out there so we’re thinking nothing more than being in with a chance.”
Lying three off the pace are Phillip Edwards (Phil Edwards Golf) and Barry Hurt (Polo Place), who carded a flawless 65; former winners Martyn Thompson (Parkstone) and Michael Watson (Wessex Golf Centre); Kings Hill pair Mark Trow and Benn Barham and James Whatley (Morley Hayes) and Ian Walley (Kedlestone Park), who all shot second successive 66s.
Thompson (above left), who won the title in 2005 with Watson (above right), said: “It’s the same score as yesterday but we feel a bit more disappointed today as we got off to a good start as we were five-under for the front nine.
“We had a target of 15-under at the start of the day and we thought that would be there or thereabouts but we saw Jon and Mark get to 17 and that pushed us on. We saw Jon hole his wedge on 17, which we could have done without.
“We just had one dropped shot, but getting rid of the bogeys is key. It could, should have been, 15. All in all we’re in it. Anything in the 20s is a good score and they’ve still got to do it tomorrow.”
Tournament first timers Barham and Trow were left frustrated, after rain returned as they closed out their round.
“We were going as fast we could go to beat the rain and we didn’t make,” said Barham.
“We had three holes to play, including two of the toughest holes on the course, and we made a bogey on the 16th which wasn’t the plan. We had a good chance for birdie on 17 but didn’t make it so overall we’re a little bit disappointed.
“On the plus side, we’re in amongst the hunt so get off to a good start tomorrow and there’s nothing in it.”
Equally philosophical were Walley, chasing his third PGA National title in 12 months, and partner Whatley.
We started off slow and didn’t do anything for quite a few holes and then hit the back nine with a few birdies. We’re three back which might just be a little bit too far back but we’ll see what happens tomorrow. Day one was steady too, we didn’t do anything special. Tomorrow will be great for a low one.
Defending champions Aran Wainwright (Mid Yorkshire) and Adrian Ambler (Low Laithes) carded a second round 69 to ease to nine-under-par and make the final round, which will be competed by 25 pairs, who made the cut at eight-under-par.
Overnight leaders Jon Barnes (Ampfield Par 3) and Dan Bone (Tournerbury) shot a seven-over-par 78 to slip to four-under for the tournament and missed the cut.
