ANDO: I’LL BE No.1 AT THE O2
WORLD OF SPORT ALL THE LATEST NEWS Gary ready to get revenge in London after losing to MVG in Aberdeen Matt left singing in the rain
GARY ANDERSON last night vowed to wreak revenge on Michael van Gerwen next week after the Dutchman ruined his homecoming.
The Scot was sunk by his rival 7-4 at the Aberdeen Gas and Oil Arena in the final regular season night of the Betway Premier League.
Van Gerwen’s win saw him pip Peter Wright to top place in the standings.
With Ando dropping to fourth, the pair will now clash again in the semifinals and the two-times champion insists there can easily be a very different outcome on Thursday.
He said: “It’s frustrating to lose my unbeaten record in Aberdeen but it was Michael’s night and I’m just happy to have qualified for the O2.
“To be honest I don’t really care who I play in the semi. A few years ago I wanted to play Michael and it worked for me. It’s just down to who turns up on the night next week.
“What happened in Aberdeen won’t have any bearing on London.
“You have to take your hat off to Michael. He’s been top of the table for five years in succession and that takes some doing. But that goes out of the window on finals night.
“Michael has won twice and lost twice on the big night and I know how to win it myself, so it’s all systems go for the O2. I can’t wait.”
Anderson was in trouble early doors when van Gerwen took out a 124 to break throw and move into an advantage. The Scot hit back with two breaks of his own, yet couldn’t hold when he regained a foothold, allowing the Dutchman to win the table for a fifth-straight term.
MVG said: “It’s a record I’m proud of. It was tough to play Gary in Scotland. It’s in London next week so maybe I’ll get a bit more support!”
Wright had to settle for second in the standings despite a thumping 7-1 win over Raymond van Barneveld as he made it to finals night for the first time.
He said: “I just wanted to win the game because the past three games have been tough against some fantastic players. I didn’t want to just scrape through to the O2 next week. I wanted to win, win, win – not be happy with draws and just getting over the line.”
Wright will play Phil Taylor after he completed the formality of making the top four with a 7-5 win over Adrian Lewis. The 16-times world champion is the outsider going to London but said: “Everything’s a bonus for me now.”
Dave Chisnall needed to defeat James Wade 7-3 or better and hope Taylor lost to Lewis to get through. But it finished 6-6 and Chisnall’s hopes were dashed. MATT WALLACE fired a stunning 10-under-par 63 to set a daunting clubhouse target before bad weather ended play early on day one of the Portugal Open.
The Englishman carded 10 birdies and no bogeys at Morgado Golf Resort to finish a shot ahead of Germany’s Sebastian Heisele, who hit an eagle, nine birdies and two bogeys in his 64.
American Julian Suri and Englishmen Paul Maddy and Jamie Rutherford were two shots further back on six under par, with former Open champion Paul Lawrie and home favourite Ricardo Gouveia on one under.
Wallace, who won six Alps Tour events last season to earn his Challenge Tour card, carded four birdies on the front nine and followed another on the 10th with five in a row from the 12th.
He said: “It was a fantastic round. I wasn’t looking great at the start when the rain came 10 minutes before my tee time.
“Then it stopped just as we got on to the tee, so that was kind of a good omen.
“I just took one shot at a time and we had a good day out there. Everything worked well. Everything clicked.
“I made two good par saves on the front nine to keep the momentum going. After that every hole was at least a birdie chance.
“It’s been a continuation of a good start to the season. I’ve enjoyed it, I love coming out here and playing and hopefully we can keep this going for the next three days.”
Scot Grant Forrest finished three under par with a 70.
Former Masters champion Mike Weir, who is currently ranked 1,908th in the world after failing to make a halfway cut since November 2014, was level par after three holes before thunder and lightning suspended play.