O’Hara fights back in Tarragona qualifier

Published on 09/11/2012 00:30

Steven O’Hara recovered well at the Lumine Golf & Beach Club in Tarragona, Spain, yesterday to put himself back in contention to make it past the second stage of this season’s European Tour Qualifying School.

The Scot had left himself with a lot of work to do after carding an opening round of 73 on Wednesday but he bounced back to form yesterday with a 66. That left O’Hara seven shots adrift of Welshman Liam Bond, who yesterday added a 68 to his opening-day 64. Jack Docherty is on the same mark as O’Hara in Tarragona after a 70 and a 69 but Elliot Saltman could only add a 73 to his opening 76.

Of the other Scots trying to make the final stage at Girona at the end of the month, Jamie Mcleary was the best-placed at Campo de Golf El Saler in Valencia. He followed up Wednesday’s 72 with a 73 and he is four shots off joint leaders Adrian Otaegui of Spain, Germany’s Moritz Lampert and China’s Ou Yang Zheng. Lloyd Saltman is struggling after adding a 72 to his first-round 79.

At Las Colinas Golf and Country Club in Alicante there are five players sharing the lead: England’s Warren Bennett, Italy’s Andrea Rota, Australian Luke Hickmott and Dutch pair Taco Remkes and Tim Sluiter are on five under par. But they are being closely followed by a Scot after Wallace Booth added a 66 to Wednesday’s 72. He is in a tie for second place, just one shot off the leaders, with Swede Jens Dantorp and Dutchman Daan Huizing. Scotland’s Scott Henderson is also playing at Las Colinas but is way down the 
leaderboard after a 76 and 73.

At the final venue, El Valle Golf Resort in Murcia, David Law carded a 69 yesterday and is four shots off Sweden’s Ake Nilsson, who leads the way after an 
impressive 64.