HORSEY AT A CANTER
Sizzling 64 matches course record
ENGLAND’S David Horsey equalled the course record at Diamond Country Club to surge into contention for a fifth European Tour title in the Lyoness Open.
He followed an opening 75 with a flawless 64 to climb more than 100 places up the leaderboard into a tie for fifth on five under par, four shots behind halfway leader Felipe Aguilar of Chile.
Aguilar (below) carded four birdies and two bogeys in a round of 70 to lead by two from Graeme Storm, with Oliver Fisher and Johan Carlsson a shot further back.
Austrian home favourite Bernd Wiesberger birdied the final two holes to join compatriot Sepp Straka, South Africa’s Zander Lombard and Horsey on five under.
“It was a little bit chalk and cheese for sure,” Horsey said of his opening two rounds. “I played lovely, probably as good as I’ve ever played tee to green.
“I maybe could have holed a couple more putts towards the end and hit a weak wedge into the eighth, my 17th, but on the whole 64 in those conditions I would take every day.
“It felt a bit lower than that with the conditions. Fortunately the course was a little softer than Thursday afternoon, but the breeze was up quite strong, 20 to 25 mph winds, so I’m very pleased with how I played.
“I’ve been working on stuff the last couple of months and it’s very good when it’s good, just inconsistent.
“When I’m on and can keep in that rhythm and keep trusting it I can shoot scores like that. Hopefully it’s a sign of things to come.”
Storm, who beat Rory McIlroy in a play-off to win the South African Open in January, carded five birdies and two bogeys in his 69, but admitted he was low on energy in his third event in a row.
“It was really difficult out there, the wind was really blustery and the fairways are firming up and so are the greens,” the 39-year-old from Hartlepool said. “I don’t feel as if I’m swinging it great or hitting it great. I feel as though I’ve run out of gas a bit so I didn’t practice yesterday. I’m just trying my best to get round and I’m managing to put a score together and getting a bit of luck as well.”
Aguilar missed the cut in six of his 11 events this season and has a best finish of 41st. He said: “There’s still a long way to go and I just want to put myself in contention.”