Ricardo Gouveia is loving his battle with Frenchman Sebastien Gros in the chase to win the Road to Oman after the Portuguese carded a six under 66 to move into contention at The Foshan Open, while the current Rankings leader signed for a five under par 67.
The 24 year old, who sits in second place in the year-long list and has this season become the highest-ranked Portuguese player in the history of the Official World Golf Rankings, flew all the way to China just days after an appearance at his home event the Portugal Masters on The European Tour.
Both he and Gros have already secured their place on The 2016 Race to Dubai, but the determined young stars believe the race is not yet run in the 2015 campaign.
Lyon player Gros admitted after his second round that seeing Gouveia’s name climb the leaderboard on the course drove him on to a second round which was five shots better than his first, and moved him into a good position heading into the weekend.
Gouveia, meanwhile, admitted that it has become a battle which is just as enjoyable for the two players, as it is for the neutral.
“It’s great to have each other, both pushing for low rounds,” he said. “It worked for Sebastien today to see my name up there but it would have worked the other way around if it was me. It’s great to be battling for the number one spot.
“It was really good today, especially after bogeying two of the first three holes. To come back with a six under round was really good. I felt much better today, I was really tired on the first day – still jetlagged I think – but today I woke up much better, hit the ball better and holed a few putts, which was good.
“Today was easier, playing early, but on the first day I just felt really tired and week, but it was good to still shoot an OK round yesterday and come back today with a good round like this.
“I’m playing well, I just need to hole some putts like I did today. If I hole a few putts I’ll shoot some low rounds, it all depends on the short stick.
“It’s a different pressure, I know that I have the European Tour card secured but I want to win the tournament so it’s not the pressure of making the top 15, it’s the pressure of winning the event – that’s my goal. But it’s not as stressful as trying to get into the top 15.”
