Miguel Angel Martin produced a flawless second round of six under par 64 to charge into contention for an elusive maiden Senior Tour victory at the Swiss Seniors Open.
The Spaniard has racked up 15 top ten performances, including three runner-up finishes, on the Senior Tour since joining the circuit in 2012 and put himself in the perfect position to finally claim that first victory with an outstanding second round performance at Golf Club Bad Ragaz.
The 54 year old produced four birdies and an eagle to charge through the field and take a one-stroke lead over Australian Peter O’Malley, who posted a second consecutive 66 to move to eight under going into Sunday’s final round.
You need to be consistent around this golf course.
Miguel Angel Martin
“I played great today,” said Martin, three-times a winner on the European Tour during the 1990’s. “My game has been very consistent from tee to green this week and you need to do that around this golf course.
“It’s is all about hitting the ball straight off the tee and I managed to do that today as well as make a few putts which is always a nice feeling. I played similar in the first round yesterday, but today was a little better and then obviously I made a few more putts.
“The eagle was very nice – I hit a huge, hooked two-iron around the corner there and managed to get it on the green and make a nice putt. It always gives you confidence when you can pick up an eagle.”
O’Malley, an eight-time winner around the world, heads a talented chasing pack which includes Americans Tim Thelan and Barry Conser, Canada’s Ken Tarling and Switzerland’s own Andre Bosert, all of whom moved to seven under par after day two in the stunning town of Bad Ragaz.
Simon Brown, Jamie Spence and Pedro Linhart are a shot further back and well in contention for the final round as Martin seeks to finally put the seal on a first Senior Tour victory.
The Spaniard is naturally taking nothing for granted but is hopeful that tomorrow could finally be his day.
He continued: “I have never won on the Senior Tour so maybe tomorrow is the day? Fingers crossed! It would mean a lot to win out here against such a good field – there are so many guys playing well this week that I know it will be tough.
“Peter (O’Malley) was playing behind me today and it looked like he was hitting a lot of quality shots out there too, so it will be an interesting final round.
“I will definitely have to shoot under par to have any chance to win I think. The golf course is not easy but you can make a of birdies if you are playing well and a lot of the guys are doing that as you can see, so I have a feeling I will need to go low tomorrow to have a chance to finally win my first tournament on the Senior Tour.”
