Round 2 of the 2015 La Manga Club International Pro-Am proved to be a true challenge for both professional and amateur competitors alike, but the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland’s Liam Bond dug deep to remain at the top of the leaderboard heading into the Final Round.
Playing in gusts of over 55kph on La Manga Club’s South Course, Bond began his assault on the course from the 10th hole where an immediate bogey five brought him back to level for the event.
A further bogey at 15 and a double at 16 took him to three over until a birdie at 18 curtailed the downward trend.
A much more stable second half on the South’s outward nine featuring just a single bogey at the seventh showed the mettle of Bond’s game, and enabled him to close the day with a four-over par 77 and a tournament total of 147 (+3).
Three shots behind him is another PGA of GB&I Professional, Darren Bragg (pictured below), who finished the day one place ahead of where he began. Six pars and a birdie through his opening seven holes showed his resilience to the wind until he came unstuck with five bogeys in the next nine holes.
But another birdie at the par-three 17th was a welcome addition to the card allowing him to close on six-over (150) for the tournament and definitely in with a chance of making a further move up the leaderboard come the final round.
“The course was in fantastic condition,” said Bragg. “The 40mph wind makes it really difficult to get the clubbing right, and, with most of the holes playing with a cross wind, it was a case of head down and do what you can do today.
“I’m pleased with the score – I think we’re probably all the same in that we could of hit a couple of better shots but I’ll definitely take it.”
In third position, and again keeping it as a GB&I one-two-three, is Nicholas Ludwell who sits just one shot back from Bragg having carded a five-over par 78 for a total of 151 (+7).
The Team Pro-Am continues to be led by the PGA of Czech Republic’s Maroš Gajan and amateurs Jiri Magyer, Jan Pizur, and Tomas Haulis. Their second score of 75 points for the tournament takes them to a total of 150 points (-6) and a five shot lead heading into the last day.
Tied for second are GB&I’s John Paul Banbury and amateurs Steve Hadley, Scott Hansel, and Chris Stokes, along with the PGA of Italy’s Andrea Zanini and amateurs Orlando Grondona, Marco Villa, and Emmanuel Georgudis, each with totals of 145 points (-1).
For full Round 2 results visit http://eur.pe/2015LaManga
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[Images courtesy of Tony Henshaw/La Manga Club – www.lamangaclub.com]
