Pelle Edberg had a familiar foe breathing down his neck on the
resumption of the European Tour’s Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca
today.
In more cold and windy conditions Peter Hanson, the man who pushed his
fellow Swede Edberg into second place at the SAS Masters in Stockholm
two years ago, covered the first six holes at Pula in a superb three
under par.
That came from six off the pace at halfway, but when Edberg and joint
overnight leader James Kingston both made sticky starts Hanson was only
two behind.
Edberg did birdie the fourth but that followed two bogeys and, when he
followed with another at the fifth, he dropped to three under par.
South African Kingston also dropped a shot at the treacherous third,
missing from five feet.
Hanson turned in 32 and went four under for the day with an 18 foot birdie putt on the next.
Edberg, though, found his form again and holed from 10 and 15 feet at the sixth and seventh.
They took him back to five under, one ahead of Kingston and Gonzalo
Fernandez-Castaño, who had birdied the sixth and eighth, and two in
front of Hanson.
Kingston then dropped back with three bogeys in the first four holes of the back nine and, when Edberg converted a six-foot birdie chance on the 12th, he moved two clear.
He let a shot go on the next, however, and Hansen, Alejandro Cañizares and Fernandez-Castaño were just a shot back at four under.
Edberg was hoping to make the Iberdrola Open Cala Millor Mallorca his first European Tour victory, but had the added pressure of trying to regain his card after failing to come through the Qualifying School last November.
More to follow...
