O'Hara well placed despite suffering with putter in Spain

Published on Sunday 29 November 2009 21:48

STEVEN O'Hara's perennial problems with his putter continued in Spain yesterday but the Scot still hauled himself to the fringes of the top 10 during the second round of the European Tour's qualifying school final at a gusty PGA Golf de Catalunya near Girona.

The 29-year-old from Motherwell harnessed the testing conditions on the Stadium course and carved out a two-under par 70 for a four-under 138 to share 12th place behind English duo Simon Khan and Charlie Ford, who lead the race for 30 tour cards on offer with 11-under 131s.

O'Hara, who lost his tour place after dropping to 151st on the money list, was one of the European circuit's most accurate golfers this season and finished fourth on the greens in regulation statistics. His putts per round figures made for dire reading, however, with the former Scottish Amateur champion finishing bottom of the rankings.

"I played some brilliant stuff today but as usual it was the same old story with the putting," said O'Hara after countering two dropped shots with a bag of four birdies. "That's been the problem all year and it can get frustrating. I had birdie chances at almost every hole and even missed a couple of putts from barely two feet. But the windy conditions made it tough and I was rewarded for my approach play."

Scott Drummond finished alongside O'Hara after a one-under 69 on the shorter Tour course but the 2004 PGA champion was left cursing a trio of late bogeys at 15, 16 and 17. Stephen Gallacher, the former Dunhill Links champion who is making his golfing comeback this week after four months on the sidelines with a viral infection, slipped to a two-over 72 for 140.

Andrew Oldcorn, the winner of the q-school back in 1983 and the oldest player in this year's field at 49, showed he is still up for the challenge with a 68 for his 140 total while former Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart hit a battling one-under 71 on the Stadium course for a 142. At the head of the field, former Wales Open winner Khan surged up the standings with a seven-under 63 on the Tour course and was joined at the summit by rookie pro Ford, who had a 64. They finished two strokes clear of Jamie Elson with another Englishman, Sam Walker, in fourth on 134.