Eales on wheels

Paul Eales confessed he feels like a cheat after moving within three shots of the lead at the halfway stage of the Omega European Masters.

Eales carded a second round 69 for a seven under total of 135 at Crans-sur-Sierre with the aid of the new Callaway Black golf ball.

The highlight of his round was an eagle on the seventh, when a combination of the ball and high altitude allowed one of the shortest hitters on tour to drive the green and finish six feet from the pin on the 330-yard par four.

Eales said: “I’ve struggled to get to the front of the green most times but it was with ease today.

“It’s all down to the ball because it was the same driver as I had last year.

“To get there with ease while not hitting flat out tells you a lot. I’ve noticed a huge difference, it almost feels like cheating.

“And I’ve banged it on the back edge in two on the 14th today (the hole measures 598 yards) which you again normally don’t do particularly as it was into the wind.

“I’m probably getting an average of 15 yards extra and I got it out over 300 yards at the BMW International Open last week which I wouldn’t do on a flat course in flat calm conditions. It was heady stuff for me.”

Equally heady stuff keeping pace with the likes of defending champion Robert Karlsson, who led by one shot from Eduardo Romero on 10 under par, with Ernie Els, Michael Campbell and Trevor Immelman – all in the top 50 in the world – a shot further back.

While Karlsson is trying to win here from start to finish for the second year running, Els leads the Order of Merit and Campbell and Immelman are upset at being overlooked for the Presidents Cup.

Eales is simply battling to regain his card for next season after doing so by just £500 last year by finishing 31st in the final event.

The 40-year-old from Preston currently lies 135th in the Order of Merit, 20 places and approximately £40,000 from safety, but a spate of bad news recently has put his struggles into perspective.

Eales revealed: “It’s been a struggle keeping motivated especially when you’ve got a young son at home and we’ve had a few problems, my father’s just been diagnosed with a brain tumour and so has my wife’s mother so we’ve had a bit of a fraught time at home over the last two or three months.”

“You try and come away and put that at the back of your mind but it’s there when you’re a small, close-knit family and it hurts at times. You want to be there but there’s nothing you can do when you’re at home so you come away.

“Is your mind 100% on golf, who knows? And then last week my old caddie Michael Wareham died of cancer just to top it all.

“Funnily enough I had his best pal working for me in Munich, whose name is Paul, and three times I called him Michael. If your mind is not on the job at such a tough level as this you shoot 72 and are going home.

“There have been one or two things that have made it more difficult but you keep going. You don’t want anyone to feel sorry for you, you’re out there to do a job and so far this week I’ve done one.”

The same could be said for Karlsson, who led from the first round last year on his way to a four-shot victory, and has now not been headed for six rounds here.

“I’d be very happy to lose the lead tomorrow and get it back on Sunday,” the 6ft 5in Swede said. “It seems I get into a pretty good flow on this course and if you get it going you can pretty much birdie every hole.”

Els is in the Rest of the World team to take on the United States in South Africa in November, but both Campbell and Immelman are smarting at being overlooked as wild cards by captain Gary Player.

Player opted for another South African, Tim Clark, and Korea’s KJ Choi instead, Clark’s fourth place in the USPGA championship no doubt having a major influence with the decision made just hours later.

“I definitely feel as if I have a point to prove, but more to myself than Gary,” said Immelman. “Cambo and I were right in there for the wild cards and I think we can feel disappointed but we should have played ourselves into the team.

“We shouldn’t blame Gary for the decisions he made but we’ll have to wait and see if he made the right decisions.

“It was one of my biggest goals for the year to make the team, especially as it’s taking place at Fancourt which is just two-and-a-half hours drive from where I live.

“That was a bitter pill to swallow and I was really pleased to have a top 10 finish the week after in the NEC Invitational.”

Campbell, winner of the Irish Open earlier this year, added: “It’s part of my motivation to try and win every tournament between now and the Presidents Cup to prove a point, not only to Gary but myself as well.”

Part-time local resident Sergio Garcia is five off the lead after a second round 70, one ahead of Paul Casey and Colin Montgomerie, the Scot missing from five feet on the 18th for birdie in his 68.

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