Low scoring continues at Gleneagles

Low scoring remained the order of the day when the Johnnie Walker Championship resumed at an overcast Gleneagles today.

On the Centenary Course which will host the Ryder Cup next September, 80 players broke par in the first round and the halfway cut fell at three under par, with Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez top of the leaderboard on 14 under after consecutive rounds of 65.

Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger, who lost out in a five-man play-off in this event two years ago, was a shot behind Gonzalez and felt he would need to shoot better than 22 under to win his third European Tour title tomorrow.

And England’s Richard Finch was showing that such low scoring was certainly still possible as he climbed into the top 10 after 12 holes of his third round.

Finch, who fired a hole-in-one on the 17th yesterday and made the cut with a shot to spare, got off to a flying start with a birdie on the first and eagle on the par-five second and, after a bogey on the eighth, also eagled the par-five ninth to be out in 32.

Birdies at the 10th and 12th took the former Irish Open winner to 10 under par, four behind Gonzalez who had yet to begin his round.

The 43-year-old has not played since failing to qualify for the Open Championship in June but arrived in Scotland refreshed after five weeks back at home in Rosario – birthplace of football star Lionel Messi – where he has a farm.

“It’s a very important week for me because I have not played well at the start of the season,” added Gonzalez, who has won four times on the European Tour but failed to record a top-10 finish yet this season.

“To shoot two rounds of 65 is amazing. I had five weeks’ rest to recharge my batteries.

“It’s strange because I’m a professional golfer and I need competition, but I’m feeling great after five weeks off. It has made me more relaxed and I think that’s the key to making a good score.”