Dry flier is card happy as he soars at the KLM
DAVID DRYSDALE boosted his chances of saving his Tour card after a stunning 65 left him just four off the lead at the KLM Open in Spijk.
The Scot has slipped to 118th in the Race to Dubai standings and must break into the top 100 to avoid a trip to Q school.
But he sits in a tie for third with China’s Li Haotong (66) in Hollland thanks to a bogey-free six-under round that left him on eight under.
Haotong’s countryman Wu Ashun leads the way on 12 under after a 66 of his own – with England’s Jonathan Thomson his closest rival on nine under.
Thomson – the tallest player in European Tour history at 6ft 9in – shot one of the rounds of the day with a 64.
After losing a play-off in Denmark recently, Thomson is also edging closer to keeping his place on Tour for next season.
And it’s quite an achievement for a rookie who battled leukemia for five years as a child.
The 22-year-old said: “I’m hitting great form. My confidence is also getting higher and higher and that’s all that matters at this part of the season.
“Experiences like I had in Denmark are invaluable.”
But Wu is the man to catch and the Chinese star is feeling confident.
He said: “After two birdies on the first two holes I knew my good feeling from yesterday was still there.” RAGING Edinburgh coach Richard Cockerill insisted his side were cheated out of a bonus point.
And the Gunners boss called on Pro14 referees to get their act together or the competition will lose credibility.
Edinburgh grabbed their first win of the Pro14 campaign but tired towards the end at rain-lashed Murrayfield.
Despite being on top for almost the entire contest, the home side ended up clinging on for a narrow success.
And Cockerill was furious with the officiating after accusing Connacht of cheating at the scrum.
He said: “We were the only team that tried to play.
“But ref Ian Davies just didn’t deal with Connacht’s cheating at the scrum. They came here to cheat the whole time – and were allowed to do that.
“The officiating this season has not been good enough and something must be done.
“We need things to be better or the league will cease to have credibility.”
Edinburgh had been dealt a blow before kick-off when flyhalf Simon Hickey called off with a tummy bug.
Jaco van der Walt was promoted to fill the No.10 slot and created Edinburgh’s first clear-cut scoring chance.
Van der Welt raced through a gap but his support runner James Johnstone put a toe on the touchline and the chance was gone.
Gunners’ frustrations grew when Blair Kinghorn’s chip over the try-line was too heavy.
Hamish Watson was then hauled down just a couple of paces short.
Connacht flanker Jarrod Butler was yellow-carded for