Walters leads as Lawlor makes his mark
Justin Walters. Picture: Getty Images
South Africa’s Justin Walters added a 71 to his opening 64 at the Belfry to lead the ISPS HANDA UK Championship by a shot from Paul Waring.
Walters came home in 34 in testing conditions, making an impressive par save on the last to get nine-under.
Frenchman Benjamin Hebert was his closest challenger after a 69, one shot clear of England's Paul Waring, who carded a 67. Two more Englishmen in Marcus Armitage and Matthew Jordan were at six under alongside Kiwi Ryan Fox and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger.
American Julian Suri and Zimbabwean Scott Vincent were at five under, a shot clear of two-time Major Champion Martin Kaymer, South African duo Dean Burmester and Bryce Easton, Scottish pair Calum Hill and Craig Howie, and England's Richard Bland.
Jonny Caldwell followed a 71 with a 74 to make the one-over cut on the mark but Paul Dunne (seven-over) and disability star Brendan Lawlor (22-over) missed out after rounds of 77 and 82.
Lawlor made history by becoming the first disability golfer to tee it up in a European Tour event and he was thrilled by the impact his appearance had on others, even if he wished he had played a little better in what were extremely tough conditions.
.@BrendanLawlor97 reflects on a memorable week.
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) August 28, 2020
🎥: @ISPSHanda#ISPSHANDAUKChampionship pic.twitter.com/HqjJEHtiVv
Justin Walters
“I certainly didn't play as well as I did yesterday, obviously looking at the score. With the putter...early on I missed a few greens, chipped it close and missed those unfortunately. Felt like I lost a bit of momentum.
On the back I really got it going, just making some putts and a few up and downs. That kind of kept my day going. Towards the end I started striking a few good shots and set up some birdie opportunities. In the end I'm happy with the day because it could have really got away from me out there.
“I'm quite content. I've worked hard to get to this point, my team has worked really hard to help me. It's quite special, today a year ago I lost my dad and I've just got quite a sombre, relaxed approach at the moment. Whatever comes my way, comes my way. When something good happens, smile and enjoy it. That's got me through some tough moments already this week in terms of the situations I've found myself in. I plan to continue that on the weekend.
It would be nice not to have to lose someone in my family for me to produce good golf. I'm working on that hard and I'm starting to gain some ground in all areas of my game. This has been a good test and this is what we play for.”
Benjamin Hebert
“Started pretty slow, hit some bad shots on the first three holes. I made a birdie on the fourth, it gave me a lot of confidence because it was not easy. I hit a great second shot from the bunker and then a good putt. It gave me confidence for the rest of the day.
“The 18th of course is the hardest. There are a lot of hard holes especially against the wind because it is very hard to control the ball. There are also some gusts so sometimes you choose a club and then have to change ten seconds later because the wind is blowing up. The greens are very soft so the ball is spinning a lot. It's pretty hard to manage.
“I am trying to improve every part of my game and my ranking from last year. Also, I'm still chasing my first win so there are a lot of goals. We'll see what happens, I'll just try to keep focused on what I'm doing, what I can control. Rest and good practice and then show the most passion possible on the course and see what happens (over the weekend).”
Paul Waring
“I’d definitely take that with these conditions. We got through 13 holes, par three 14th and got a massive gust downwind. From there it was quite tough coming in, we had a rain shower too so pleased to finish the round off.
“The short game has been really tidy. When I have missed it I’ve made a really easy up and down and haven’t put myself under any pressure. I’m driving it quite nicely so everything is in play off the tee. I’m not chasing my tail, I’m plodding on and giving myself more chances than having to recover.
“I’ve found it’s best not to think. I try not to overthink anything. It’s a massive thing for me, overthinking, if I can find a way to free it up, which is ideal here. I’ve only come to see where my golf game is. I had no idea what shape it would be in. I feel like I’m free-wheeling it at the moment.
“It’s something I’ve been doing for the last few years, ever since I won in Sweden and had a good season last year. That’s one of the key things for me, not getting ahead of myself and letting whatever happens happen. I’ve built on that over the years and I’m just getting better at that.”
ISPS HANDA UK Championship, The Belfry, Sutton Coldfield, England (par 72)
135 J Walters (Rsa) 64 71,
136 B Hebert (Fra) 67 69,
137 P Waring (Eng) 70 67,
138 B Wiesberger (Aut) 67 71, M Jordan (Eng) 69 69, M Armitage (Eng) 70 68, R Fox (NZ) 71 67,
139 S Vincent (Zim) 67 72, J Suri (Usa) 68 71,
140 M Kaymer (Ger) 68 72, C Hill (Sco) 68 72, C Howie (Sco) 68 72, D Burmester (RSA) 70 70, R Bland (Eng) 70 70, B Easton (Rsa) 72 68,
141 R Fisher (Eng) 68 73, W Nienaber (RSA) 69 72, L Westwood (Eng) 70 71, G Higgo (Rsa) 70 71, A Cockerill (Can) 72 69, T Bjorn (Den) 72 69, G Storm (Eng) 72 69, T Gandy (Isle of Man) 73 68,
142 M Kinhult (Swe) 68 74, W Ormsby (Aus) 68 74, J Campillo (Esp) 69 73, M Warren (Sco) 69 73, J Winther (Den) 69 73, A Sullivan (Eng) 70 72, J Hansen (Den) 71 71, M Lee (Aus) 71 71, J McLeod (Aus) 71 71, D Van Driel (Ned) 72 70, R Hojgaard (Den) 73 69, R McGowan (Eng) 74 68,
143 J Sjoholm (Swe) 67 76, R Enoch (Wal) 68 75, T Olesen (Den) 70 73, M Wallace (Eng) 70 73, D Horsey (Eng) 71 72, A Rai (Eng) 71 72, M Schwab (Aut) 71 72, B Evans (Eng) 71 72,
144 D Dixon (Eng) 68 76, L Canter (Eng) 71 73, J Catlin (Usa) 72 72, M Pavon (Fra) 72 72, D Perrier (Fra) 73 71, D Coupland (Eng) 73 71, E Pepperell (Eng) 74 70, M Simonsen (Den) 74 70, N Colsaerts (Bel) 75 69, Z Lombard (Rsa) 75 69,
145 S Gallacher (Sco) 69 76, S Kjeldsen (Den) 70 75, M Kawamura (Jpn) 70 75, J Senior (Eng) 70 75, L Slattery (Eng) 70 75, Jonny Caldwell (Nir) 71 74, L Johnston (Sco) 72 73, L Bjerregaard (Den) 73 72, H Li (Chn) 74 71, R Jacquelin (Fra) 74 71, S Tiley (Eng) 74 71, J Morrison (Eng) 75 70, R Ramsay (Sco) 75 70,
Missed cut
146 D Howell (Eng) 70 76, J Ritchie (Rsa) 71 75, G Havret (Fra) 72 74, M Baldwin (Eng) 72 74, W Besseling (Ned) 73 73, A Rozner (Fra) 74 72, A Cañizares (Esp) 74 72, S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 74 72, E Ferguson (Sco) 74 72, C Paisley (Eng) 75 71, V Perez (Fra) 75 71, J Lagergren (Swe) 75 71, M Siem (Ger) 75 71, D Whitnell (Eng) 76 70,
147 G Green (Mas) 69 78, P Eriksson (Swe) 72 75, D Willett (Eng) 72 75, J Smith (Eng) 72 75, H Porteous (Rsa) 73 74, R Langasque (Fra) 73 74, D Huizing (Ned) 73 74, K Samooja (Fin) 74 73, R Wattel (Fra) 75 72,
148 D Young (Sco) 70 78, O Lengden (Swe) 71 77, L De Jager (Rsa) 72 76, B Stow (Eng) 73 75, O Farr (Wal) 74 74, A Chesters (Eng) 74 74, S Brown (Eng) 75 73, R Rock (Eng) 75 73, E Molinari (Ita) 76 72, J Kruger (Rsa) 76 72, J Kruyswijk (Rsa) 76 72, J Wrisdale (Eng) 76 72, M Antcliff (Aus) 78 70,
149 Z Murray (Aus) 71 78, B Poke (Den) 72 77, A Saddier (Fra) 72 77, M Southgate (Eng) 73 76, P Larrazábal (Esp) 73 76, G Porteous (Eng) 74 75, S Kim (Usa) 74 75, J Guerrier (Fra) 75 74, T Pulkkanen (Fin) 75 74,
150 S Sharma (Ind) 72 78, C Knipes (Eng) 74 76, C Shinkwin (Eng) 76 74,
151 Paul Dunne (Irl) 74 77, M Schneider (Ger) 76 75, 152 T Tree (Eng) 75 77, D Gavins (Eng) 76 76, M Fenasse (Fra) 76 76, A Levy (Fra) 79 73,
153 H Long (Ger) 77 76, N Hojgaard (Den) 78 75, R McEvoy (Eng) 80 73,
154 D Law (Sco) 73 81, G Davies (Eng) 73 81,
155 M Schmitt (Ger) 75 80,
157 J Kaske (Fin) 78 79,
159 S Hend (Aus) 75 84, L Scalise (Ita) 80 79,
166 Brendan Lawlor (Irl) 84 82,
** 78 O Fisher (Eng) 78 ,
** Out D Drysdale (Sco) Rt,
Bad Time Register
Round One: No Bad Times
Round Two: No Bad Times
