PGA of Switzerland Professional, Alec Roberts, and PGA of Holland Professional, Ralph Miller, both survived stormy conditions at Pravets Golf Club on the second day of the 2014 UniCredit PGA Professional Championship of Europe, sharing the lead through 36 holes at eight-under par (136).
Roberts’ three-under par 69 was a steady round for the Swiss PGA Pro, who is looking to advance on his second place finish in 2013, but it could have been even lower – “I felt like I left a lot of shots out there. I’m going to be really happy when I forget about the shots I left out there – it was a frustrating round but I’m going to be happy at the end of the day…eight-under par, I can’t grumble with that.”
A wedge-shot just before the thunder and lightning suspension was called placed Roberts in an un-nerving position with a downhill chip remaining but a cool chip and a holed six-footer when play resumed was enough to save par and keep momentum for the remaining few holes.
“The rain delay didn’t put me off but the shot I hit just before they stopped play was right in the middle of the shower,” said Roberts. “I totally topped my wedge over the green…but I managed to hole a six-footer and that got me going again.”
Miller, who continues his run at the top of the leaderboard, had a more up-and-down round than Round 1 with five birdies and three bogeys making up his two-under 70 – “The weather conditions were a lot more difficult today…half-way through our round the wind picked up and the rain came down and it was really tough playing, and I was quite glad that they sounded the horn [for the suspension]. I made a few more bogeys than yesterday but again solid playing and I’ve just got to keep it together with the same gameplan as yesterday.”
Just one shot back on seven-under (137), is the PGA of Poland’s Jakub Ossowski, who started the day in the middle of the pack at one-under par. But after seven birdies and one bogey for a six-under par 66 and tied low round of the day, Ossowski has played his way back into contention heading into Round 3.
”It was a really good day – I felt good after yesterday and my one-under…the putter was really hot today and I just made the putts I had. I was a little bit worried [about the rain delay] with three holes left to finish after the break but I started with two straight birdies and it put me on a good track.”
The PGA of Germany’s, Paul Archbold, continued with steady play and a second three-under par 69 for a six-under total (138), along with overnight leader Hugo Santos (PGA of Portugal) who had two bogeys and a double-bogey to drop back to a level-par 72.
Round 3 of the 2014 UniCredit PGA Professional Championship of Europe at Pravets Golf & Spa Resort begins tomorrow at 0900am (EEST). For full Round 2 scores and updates visit http://eur.pe/1t2FsIz.
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