Higgins suffers Q School setback in Catalunya
The Waterville man never got to grips with the easier Tour Course at the Girona venue, falling to 74th on one under par, six strokes outside the crucial top 30 who will earn cards after six rounds and a shot outside the cut mark for the top 70 and ties.
The 39-year-old had three birdies, five bogeys and a double bogey on his card and knows he will almost certainly have to break par on the tough Stadium Course today just to qualify for the last two rounds.
But his task is still easier than that facing three-time European Tour winner Nick Dougherty, who confessed he could end up in the nuthouse if he reflects on how badly he’s played this year.
The 29-year-old Liverpudlian crashed six shots outside the top 70 on two over after a three over 75 yesterday and now needs at least a six under 64 on the Tour Course today to keep his dream alive.
Needless to say, the three-time European Tour winner was thoroughly pessimistic about his chances after making just one cut from 34 starts on the European Tour this year.
“At this point I don’t have a huge amount of faith to be honest because why would it turn around for one day for me when it’s gone hideously bad all year,” Dougherty said of his chances of making the cut.
“At some point you’ve got to stop caring, but I just hope that’s soon because I can’t put up with doing this for much longer.
“I need a huge break and everything to go my way and it hasn’t done once this year but maybe all my luck will go into one round.
“Time for reflection would put me in a mental institute to be honest! If someone said to me now, this is how you’re going to play for the rest of my career, I’d pack it in and do something else, 100% guaranteed.
“But I hold out hope that I can get it back to how it used to be and how it used to feel.”
Ballymena’s Chris Devlin is five shots outside the cut mark on three over after a 73 on the Stadium Course while Clandeboye’s Jonny Caldwell and Limerick’s Cian McNamara are playing for pride after rounds of 76 and 73 on the same track left them on eight over and 10 over respectively.
“It was a better ball-striking day,” said McNamara after mixing four birdies with five bogeys. “I drove the ball better and I had a chance of a good score but just didn’t capitalise.”
England’s Sam Hutsby fired a two under 68 on the Tour Course to lead by a shot from Andy Sullivan on 15 under with the top 30 and ties after Thursday’s sixth round earning cards.
