Lawrie remains in the mix as stars make exit

SEVERAL of the game’s finest made their exits from the European Open at the London Club yesterday as the little-known Frenchman Michael Lorenzo-Vera and India’s Jeev Milkha Singh tied for the lead on eight under par at the halfway stage.

None bowed out more spectacularly than Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, recent winner of the Players Championship in the US and currently ranked fifth in the world. He totalled an embarrassing 11 over par — 10 outside the mark — and was joined on the sidelines by Masters champion Angel Cabrera, who missed the cut for the second successive week, on three over.

Defending champion Ross Fisher was one of the many to run up a double bogey six at the 18th and he also bowed out on two over. His playing partner Sergio Garcia did likewise but at least he survived on even par. John Daly has also departed having finished two over.

It’s been a fine tournament so far for 35-year-old Dubliner Peter Lawrie who battled through some very windy and tricky conditions in the late afternoon to add a 71 to Thursday’s 67 for six under to stand just two out of the lead. The Dubliner is never one to blow his own trumpet so when he claims to have struck the ball well over the two days, there is good reason to believe he can maintain his challenge through the weekend.

He has also enjoyed the rub of the green so far, holing a chip for a birdie on the 14th and knocking in a putt from off the green at the 16th. That moved him to within a stroke of the lead but he couldn’t reach the par three 17th with a full-blooded three iron but he was one of the few to make par at the 18th.

“It got very windy half way through our round and they tucked the pins away today as well so my caddie and I reckoned it was four or five shots harder than yesterday,” he maintained. “I’m playing nicely but today is only Friday. I really played well yesterday and was okay today. The short game was sharp and it has been for some time now.”

Rory McIlroy failed to ignite as much as he had hoped and for a time was struggling to stay in the tournament. However, the ever strengthening wind meant he remained within six of the leaders and believing that he could still figure in the weekend showdown.

“I lipped out at my first three holes which set the tone for the day,” said McIlroy. “This is my fourth tournament in a row and I feel that’s one too many and it will be a lesson for me in future. I had to have treatment on my back for an hour last night and for another 45 minutes this morning so my body is feeling it. When I play a lot of golf, I do experience a bit of stiffness although I will definitely give it my best shot over the next two days. The two-week break coming up will be very welcome.

“I can’t believe the leader is only eight under, I thought it would have been double figures but I’m not complaining. I’m just six shots out of the lead and hopefully I can get in there with a good weekend. A 73 is obviously disappointing but I’m still not out of it, I’m here for the weekend and what I need now is something like the 65 I had at Wentworth last Saturday.”

McIlroy doesn’t compete again until the US Open in New York on June 18. In the meantime, was there a chance he might pay a visit to the barber? Idly playing with the mass of curls spreading out in all directions from under his cap, he mused: “It can get a little humid in New York at this time of year so I might have to get some of it off.”

The 18th hole with a lake on the left and fierce rough on the right caused major problems throughout the day. Graeme McDowell and partners Oliver Wilson (who took 7 there) and former Open champion Ben Curtis agreed that “there aren’t too many tougher tee shots in all of golf”. The Ulsterman took five there and wasn’t complaining although admitting that “I’m fed up with being on the cut line almost every Friday. I hung in there and at one under I suppose I’m not out of it. If I can go out in the morning and post a score, then who knows?”

Lawrie six under, McIlroy two under, McDowell one under and Paul McGinley, one over, are the four Irishmen into the weekend.

Darren Clarke had battled back to even par with birdies at the 3rd and 5th but the round fell asunder for him when he splashed his tee shot at the short 8th into the lake in front of the green and ran up a triple bogey six. He eventually finished with a 76 for six over.

The others to miss out were Gary Murphy and Damien McGrane, both four over; Gareth Maybin, five over, and Shane Lowry and Michael Hoey, both seven over.