Tournaments delicately poised going into final day

Play came to a halt in the darkness at the Scottish Boys Open Championship at Royal Montrose last night with the title chase delicately poised and four players sharing the lead.

Nairn’s Calum Scott is one of the leaders on one-over for the championship but still has seven holes of his second round to play after a two and a half hour delay at the start of the second day due to frost.

Play at Monifieth for the Girls’ Championship was also delayed early on but the second round was completed.

Germany’s Patrick Schmeucking, the leader after the first round, is the only one of the quartet who is safely in the clubhouse with a two round total of 143, after a one-over-par 72 yesterday that featured an eagle and four birdies.

The 17-year-old from Wiesbaden looked set fair for a commanding lead but he finished double-bogey-bogey, still good for a two-shot advantage in the clubhouse from Royal Wimbledon’s Babar Haq, who had the round of the day in the drier, calmer conditions with a three-under 68 to leap from 20th into the top five.

There were also strong under-par rounds from three Scots, 69s for Royal Montrose’s Sean Logie and Liam Waldron (Royal Aberdeen) and a 70 from Aidan O’hagan of Old Course Ranfurly.

Of those called in, Scott has the most to complete at level par for his 11 holes so far, but Iceland’s Sigurdur Blumenstein was loath to come in having got to fiveunder for his 13 holes played without a bogey.

The fourth player on one-over when play was halted is Wales’ Archie Davies, who had two bogeys in his first three holes but mounted a strong comeback to be two-under with three holes of his second round to play.

Second rounds will be completed this morning but it looks likely that Jack Gallacher, son of Ryder Cup player Stephen, will make the final day after a one-under-par 70 in his second round left him on eight-over.

There was a similar early delay at Monifieth for the Girls Championship but once under way home hopes were making the most progress up the leaderboard.

Carmen Griffiths shot a tournamentbest four-under 69 to move up into a share of fourth place, joined there by fellow Academy player Kirsty Brodie from Strathmore with Milngavie’s Lorna Mcclymont just a shot behind them.

Griffiths, from the Aboyne club in Aberdeenshire and one of the six #Project19 girls who went to last year’s Solheim Cup in Des Moines, raced out of the blocks with birdies at the first two holes and picked up two more at the long fourth and ninth to be out in 34.

She came through a sticky patch on the back nine with two further birdies to complete her 69, which leaves her at three-over and four shots off the lead.

Brodie, a member of the Scottish Girls squad the last two seasons, shot a one-under 72 finishing with seven successive pars to join Griffiths on three-over after two rounds.

The two English girls who edged in front on the first day held their positions on the second.

Natasha Slater, from Cumbria and a former winner of the Scottish Girls U14s championship, pulled level with Rosie Belsham with a one-under 72, three birdies in the space of four holes on the back nine rescuing a round that seemed to be getting away from her.

Northumberland’s Belsham holed out at the eighth for an eagle two but needed a birdie at the par five final hole for a par round of 73 to go into tomorrow’s final 18 holes tied with Slater.

Minchinhampton’s Ffion Tynan is along in third place on level par, the Welsh girl returning a one-under 72, while two other English players, Caitlin Whitehead (71) and Ebonie Lewis (70), had under par rounds to move into the top six.

Mcclymont followed her 77 on Wednesday with a 74 to lie on five-over after two rounds, while Downfield’s Jodie Taylor leapt into the top 20 with a par round of 73.

Scottish matchplay champion Hannah Darling also made the final round but lies 11 shots off the lead at 10-over after 75 that included seven birdies.

stscott@thecourier.co.uk

Picture: Paul Reid. Jack Gallacher with his dad, Ryder Cup player Stephen.