Round Two Report

Ewen Ferguson will go into the weekend at the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by AVIV Clinics with a one-stroke lead after carding a level par 70 at Massereene Golf Club.

The 26-year-old, who started the second round of the innovative event four strokes clear after setting a new course record at Galgorm Castle Golf Club yesterday with a nine under par 61, made a slower start to the day as he parred the first seven holes.

Starting from the tenth hole, his first birdie of the day came on the 17th hole, his eighth, and he played the front nine in one over with three bogeys and two birdies to sign for a level par round.

The Scotsman is one stroke clear of Virto, of Spain, who followed his five under 65 at Massereene with a three under par 67 at Galgorm to reach eight under. The 31-year-old is in a rich vein of form with four finishes of tied eighth or better in his last seven starts on the Challenge Tour, on which he won twice in 2015.

Filippo Celli, who won the Silver Medal at The 150th Open at St Andrews last month after finishing as low amateur, shares third on seven under par with Sweden’s Felix Palson, while Scotsman Connor Syme is fifth on six under.

The final two rounds of the ISPS HANDA World Invitational will be played at Galgorm Castle Golf Club, with the top 60 and ties from the men’s and women’s competition playing on Saturday. There will be a further cut to the leading 30 players and ties from both tournaments for the final round on Sunday. Tee times will alternate between male and female groups on both days.

In the women’s event, American Amanda Dougherty remains one stroke ahead with her second consecutive round of 67. She is one stroke ahead of compatriot Lauren Coughlin and five-time Ladies European Tour winner and Solheim Cup player Emily Kristine Pedersen.

Player Quotes

Ewen Ferguson: “Still playing nicely, but, a few more bad breaks today and missed a couple of the putts that I’ve kind of been making yesterday to keep my round going. Good putts, but just kind of lipping out, and yesterday they were kind of lipping in. You walk onto the next tee when they lip in, you feel amazing. When you walk on the next tee and they lip out you feel a bit flatter. It was still a good day overall.”

Borja Virto: “I played this event before a couple years ago and I played in Galgorm quite a few times for Challenge Tour, so I knew the course. There is a few changes, but I knew the course overall. (It’s) a bit longer week just trying to adapt to two golf courses that are playing a bit different. It was nice to be done with Massareene yesterday and now focus on Galgorm from today.

“I’ve been playing pretty well on Challenge Tour the last few weeks. Had a couple Top 10s and a third place where I had kind of a chance to win, so it’s nice.”

Felippo Celli: “My ball striking yesterday and today was pretty good. I’m very happy. Today I played a little bit worse than yesterday the ball striking, but the back nine I made like a really good putt for the birdie on 15. Really good. I couldn’t make more putts on the front nine today, but I’m happy for the first two days. The tournament, it’s long, two long — two more days, so we’ll see. Now I’m here and then we’ll see.

“I’m really happy that the DP World Tour gave me the opportunity to play. Last week I played also, and also this week. I’m very happy for the opportunity that gave it to me. I really appreciate that.”

Felix Palson: “I’m very pleased with my game. It’s new experience for me. I’ve never played on the DP Tour before, so I was kind of nervous going into the round. After couple holes I made a long putt for birdie on the second, or my second hole, and started to feel good again. I didn’t put myself in bad positions, so it wasn’t very stressful day of golf. In the end, felt like I hit some good shots but just ended up with some bogeys.”

Scores after Round Two:

 131 E FERGUSON (SCO) 61 70,

 132 B VIRTO (ESP) 65 67,

 133 F PALSON (SWE) 65 68, F CELLI (AM) (ITA) 66 67,

 134 C SYME (SCO) 66 68,

 135 D WHITNELL (ENG) 66 69, R PARATORE (ITA) 67 68, J SMITH (ENG) 68 67,

 136 R PETERSSON (SWE) 66 70, J CATLIN (USA) 67 69, R BLAND (ENG) 65 71, J MURPHY (IRL) 67 69, R MANSELL (ENG) 71 65,

 137 S STALLINGS JR (USA) 69 68, D BORDA (ESP) 70 67, M BALDWIN (ENG) 68 69, A KEOGH (ENG) 70 67, C HOWIE (SCO) 69 68, L RUUSKA (FIN) 69 68, D DIXON (ENG) 70 67, R EVANS (ENG) 66 71, A SADDIER (FRA) 66 71, C FYFE (SCO) 66 71,

 138 T MURRAY (ENG) 68 70, J RUTHERFORD (ENG) 70 68, J FAHRBRING (SWE) 68 70, W NIENABER (RSA) 66 72, M KINHULT (SWE) 74 64, G MIGLIOZZI (ITA) 70 68, J SENIOR (ENG) 69 69, R LUMSDEN (SCO) 68 70, O FARR (WAL) 70 68, A HIDALGO (ESP) 67 71,

 139 J WIKSTROM (SWE) 71 68, S GARCIA RODRIGUEZ (ESP) 66 73, D HORSEY (ENG) 70 69, C PIGEM (ESP) 68 71, C MIVIS (BEL) 70 69, J DANTORP (SWE) 68 71, M HELLIGKILDE (DEN) 67 72,

 140 H MAGNUS (ISL) 71 69, J WRISDALE (ENG) 71 69, D CAREY (IRL) 67 73, D LAW (SCO) 70 70, Z MURRAY (AUS) 70 70, S TARRIO (ESP) 66 74, T AIKEN (RSA) 66 74, J MCLEOD (AUS) 72 68, D GERMISHUYS (RSA) 72 68, P DUNNE (IRL) 68 72, A CHESTERS (ENG) 72 68, B EASTON (RSA) 67 73, J THOMSON (ENG) 68 72,

 141 P ERIKSSON (SWE) 69 72, C FELDBORG NIELSEN (SWE) 71 70, M DECOTTIGNIES-LAFON (FRA) 70 71, J VEERMAN (USA) 72 69, D DRYSDALE (SCO) 71 70, S BROWN (ENG) 72 69, V RIU (FRA) 73 68, T MCKIBBIN (NIR) 69 72, G HURLEY (IRL) 70 71, D PAPADATOS (AUS) 68 73, B STOW (ENG) 71 70,

 142 O FARRELL (ENG) 73 69, V MEYER (GER) 71 71, M FORD (ENG) 73 69, R DINWIDDIE (ENG) 69 73, F LAPORTA (ITA) 73 69, N VON DELLINGSHAUSEN (GER) 72 70, S MANLEY (WAL) 69 73, T GANDY (IMN) 71 71, E WALKER (SCO) 71 71, M ANTCLIFF (AUS) 71 71, C HANNA (USA) 72 70, T CLEMENTS (ENG) 68 74, A WILSON (ENG) 68 74, H PORTEOUS (RSA) 68 74, L SLATTERY (ENG) 72 70,

 143 M PENGE (ENG) 73 70, D GAVINS (ENG) 73 70, N LEMKE (SWE) 73 70, E SMYLIE (AUS) 72 71, B EVANS (ENG) 76 67, J SURI (USA) 73 70, B NEIL (SCO) 73 70,

 144 J HEARN (AM) (IRL) 75 69, B PETURSSON (ISL) 71 73, J STALTER (FRA) 70 74, L DE JAGER (RSA) 76 68, C SHARVIN (NIR) 73 71, S THORNTON (IRL) 73 71,

 145 D HIGGINS (IRL) 73 72, J ZUNIC (AUS) 75 70, G BOURDY (FRA) 71 74, T RICE (IRL) 72 73, J HANSEN (DEN) 72 73, A CA?IZARES (ESP) 75 70, R KARLBERG (SWE) 73 72, B BROWN (AM) (ENG) 69 76, H ZHANG (CHN) 73 72,

 146 M WAITE (ENG) 73 73, N KEARNEY (IRL) 73 73, S DEL VAL (ESP) 71 75, D COUPLAND (ENG) 71 75, M ORRIN (ENG) 72 74, C BLOMSTRAND (SWE) 73 73,

 147 C PURCELL (IRL) 70 77, F KENNEDY (AM) (ENG) 73 74, R CONRADIE (RSA) 74 73, J KENNEGARD (SWE) 71 76, R MCEVOY (ENG) 73 74, A PLANT (ENG) 73 74,

 148 C GRIFFITHS (ENG) 73 75, D MCELROY (NIR) 77 71, E LIPPARELLI (ITA) 72 76, G KRISTJANSSON (ISL) 74 74, J OTAEGUI (ESP) 76 72, Z BAI (CHN) 71 77, J HILL (AM) (NIR) 75 73,

 149 P EDBERG (SWE) 75 74, J MORRISON (ENG) 75 74,

 150 S FERNANDEZ (ESP) 73 77,

 151 G KING (ENG) 75 76, H LEON (CHI) 77 74,

 152 J GARCIA (ESP) 76 76,

 153 T KOIVISTO (USA) 73 80,

 157 H ELLIS (ENG) 75 82,

 159 R BRAZILL (AM) (IRL) 78 81,

 **

 OUT M WARREN (SCO) 76 DQ, J RITCHIE (RSA) 72 RT, C WILLIAMS (IRL) 80 WD,

ISPS Handa World Invitational Day 2 Interview with overnight leader Ewen Ferguson