Sport

Thornton gets himself into hunt

GOLF DIGEST : SIMON THORNTON leads the Irish charge at the Scottish Hydro Challenge after a second-round 69 yesterday took him…

Sat Aug 01 2009 - 01:00

GOLF DIGEST: SIMON THORNTON leads the Irish charge at the Scottish Hydro Challenge after a second-round 69 yesterday took him to one under par for the tournament, five shots behind the leader, Jamie McLeary of Scotland.

While Thornton put himself in contention with a fine second round, it was a day to forget for Noel Fox, who undid his one-under first round with a nightmare second day as he collapsed to a 14-over-par 85.

Thornton will be joined for the final two rounds by Northern Irishman Jonathan Caldwell, but there was cut-missing agony for Michael McGeady, Colm Moriarty and Peter O’Keefe, who all missed the weekend action by a single stroke by posting five over totals.

Scotland’s Jamie McLeary leads the way on six under par, with former Open Champion Paul Lawrie still in contention on level.

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OVERNIGHT CO-LEADER Gavin Flint maintained his challenge for a maiden Asian Tour victory as a second-round 68 saw the Australian share top spot at the halfway mark in the Brunei Open on 10 under par.

Flint recorded five birdies and two bogeys in his three-under-par effort at a windy Empire Hotel and Country Club and was joined at the head of the field by Thai Wisut Artjanawat.

“It got really windy on the back nine, which made things very tough,” the 27-year-old Australian said. “My shots on the last five holes pretty much went straight into the wind. I’m glad I managed to hang in there right until the end.

“I’ll try to keep the ball as low as possible and keep attacking the pins.”

Wisut, meanwhile, sank six birdies in his opening nine holes to reach the turn in 29 but a birdie at the 11th was nullified by a dropped shot at the 18th, denying him the outright lead.

“It was another good round for me today and I hope I can continue to play as well as I have done over the opening two rounds,” said Wisut.

Scott Bar’s four-under 67 saw him move to nine under par and one behind his compatriot in third, while Korean Ted Oh, who had shared the first-round lead with Flint, signed for a 70 that saw him reach eight under par alongside Jay Bayron from the Philippines.