Whiteford in mix after putting away his driver en route to 66
THE amateur trio who partnered Peter Whiteford in the pre-tournament Pro-Am ahead of this week’s SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge may be surprised to read that he nipped round Macdonald Spey Valley in a sprightly five-under 66 yesterday to lurk two shots off the lead.
“They’ll not believe it because the way I played in the Pro-Am was embarrassing,” confessed the Fifer after a purposeful, bogey-free start to his campaign.
It’s a funny old game, of course. One day, you’re wildly swiping away with the kind of wayward thrashes that wouldn’t look out of place on a medieval battlefield, the next it’s as smooth and considered as a Torvill and Dean routine.
After a couple of years of toil, which has led to him dropping off the main European Tour, Whiteford is still fighting for form and consistency, particularly with the driver.
“I’ve gone back to one that’s a 12-year-old thing from a museum bit it’s not the club that’s the problem, it’s the swing,” added the 35-year-old, who hit only three drivers all day and preferred to blast away from the tee with a two-iron. “When you’re not driving it well, the confidence takes a battering. The driver is my downfall just now, but if I can get it in play then I can compete.”
On a cluttered leaderboard, which is topped by Tapio Pulkkanen of Finland, who birdied his closing two holes in a rousing 64 late in the day, Whiteford is well in the mix and sits alongside a posse of players on five-under which includes Sweden’s Anton Karlsson.
His elevation into the upper reaches was pretty spectacular as he holed his six-iron tee shot at the 196-yard 10th – his final hole – to be the ace in this particular pack. Scotsman Craig Sutherland also had a one on his card. Unfortunately he scribbled another right next to it as he took an eye-watering 11 on the eighth on his way to a chastening 81.
Back at the sharp end of affairs, frontrunner Pulkkanen, who arrived in Aviemore only on Wednesday after coming off the reserve list and has just recovered from a recent bout of chickenpox, has a six-strong posse sitting just a stroke behind him on 65s.
That number includes last year’s runner-up Robert Coles and Sweden’s Sebastian Soderberg, who played in last week’s US Open where he enjoyed a practice round with eventual champion Dustin Johnson.
On the Tartan Tour, meanwhile, Greig Hutcheon leads by three shots heading into the final round of the Northern Open at Royal Dornoch. The 2010 champion posted a five-under 65 for a nine-under 201 and a healthy advantage over Greg McBain and defending champion Chris Kelly. FRENCHMAN Raphael Jacquelin’s game proved to be as hot as the weather in Germany as he carded a seven-under-par 65 to take the firstround lead in the BMW International Open.
A bogey-free round gave the 42-year-old a one-stroke advantage over England’s Oliver Fisher, who had set the clubhouse lead as one of the morning starters.
With temperatures reaching 33 degrees, scoring conditions were good, although the long, lush rough around Golf Club Gut Laerchenhof meant anything off line was usually punished.
That was not a problem for Jacquelin, starting at the 10th, who carded six birdies in nine holes from the 13th around the turn, covering the back nine in 32, to draw level with long-time leader Fisher.
“I am very pleased, I played solidly all round,” he said in his post-round interview.
“The rough is brutal, so you definitely have to keep the ball in play, that is key this week.”
Fisher’s six-under 66 included a trio of birdies in both halves of his round and he stands alone in second place, ahead of Chilean Felipe Aguilar and South African Zander Lombard.
His success was based on his accuracy as he found 17 of 18 greens in regulation.
“The course is pretty wet so you have to hit fairways and greens, and any time you go bogeyfree for 18 holes is a great round,” said the 27-year-old, whose best finish this season is joint22nd at the Trophee Hassan II.
Scot Richie Ramsay’s hole-in-one at the 183-yard 16th won him a car from the tournament sponsors as he finished one under.