Cutler’s Q-School dream ends in heartache

PAUL CUTLER crashed out of the first stage of the European Tour Qualifying dream last night after a thoroughly disappointing few days at Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire.

The 22-year-old Walker Cup hero from Portstewart returned an unhappy 78 yesterday for a 54-hole total of 231 and failed to make it to the final round.

He was in a ghastly 75th position, some 23 strokes behind leader Martin Lemesurier.

While Cutler struggled, Ballinasloe’s Mark Staunton flourished and in difficult windy conditions fired a 74 for a 214 total and goes into round four today in sixth position.

Waterville’s David Higgins with a 77 is on 220 and in 15th equal place and Dara Lernihan just made it to the last day on 229, Cutler only narrowly missing out despite his poor performance.

At Ribagolfe in Portugal, Derry’s Michael McGeady moved into second place with a 72 for a 211 aggregate, only two strokes off the pace set by Swede Bjorn Petersson.

McGeady looks set to make it into the second qualifying stage in December and so does Chris Devlin on 213 while Brendan McCarroll on 217 has an excellent chance as well.

Fergal Rafferty and John Kelly on 225 and 226 respectively are struggling to find form.

Meanwhile, England’s Ross McGowan held the lead after shooting 64 in the opening round of the Madrid Masters. The 29-year-old’s eight-under-par round left him one stroke clear of hometown favourite Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Italian Lorenzo Gagli and Australian Brett Rumford on a day of low scoring at El Encin Golf Hotel.

Gagli’s compatriot Edoardo Molinari follows in outright fifth place on six under, with a host of players one shot further back and world number one Luke Donald heading another sizeable group at four under.

McGowan birdied three of the first four holes but it was around the turn where his round took flight, with five successive birdies from the ninth.

Two more followed in the final three holes to leave him on top, despite recording his second bogey at 15.

Fernandez-Castano was on track for a share of top spot in his home event until he bogeyed the par-five last, but his stunning front nine — he also hit five birdies in a row, from the third — kept him firmly in the picture.

Gagli, by contrast, timed his run late, with an outward 34 which was no more than solid followed by an eagle at the 11th and a closing birdie hat-trick.

Rumford, meanwhile, started at the 10th with back-to-back birdies and hit five more in six holes between the 17th and fourth on a solid card.

Edoardo Molinari made a steady beginning to his round after starting at the 10th, with eight successive pars before a birdie at the 18th and an eagle at the par-five first sparked a surge to six under.

The Italian picked up another shot at the par-three fifth before closing with two more birdies.

That left him a shot ahead of a nine-strong group at five under which included his brother Francesco, who carded three successive birdies from the sixth in a bogey-free round.

The group also featured three more Englishmen — Steve Webster, Graeme Storm and Lee Slattery — and two Spaniards, Alvaro Quiros and Eduardo de la Riva, and was completed by Welshman Bradley Dredge, Swede Peter Hanson and Tano Goya of Argentina.

Donald started at the 10th and was only one under at the turn, having tempered three birdies with dropped shots at the 12th and 18th.

But three birdies on his second nine lifted him to four under.