Ireland’s Eamonn Darcy will be paired with former Ryder Cup team-mate Sam Torrance of Scotland for the final day of the Sharp Italian Seniors Open after the pair finished the second round tied at the top of the leaderboard.
Darcy, still searching for his first victory on the European Seniors Tour, was beaten by Frenchman Gery Watine in a play-off at this event last year and once again he showed his liking for the Circolo Golf Venezia lay-out with a second consecutive round of 69.
Torrance, who successfully scrambled for much of his round of 70, eventually gave away a shot at the 17th after blocking his drive to the right, which dropped him into a tie with Darcy on six under par 138.
The pair lead by one from Australian Stewart Ginn, who broke Arnold Palmer’s original course record with a 66 to add to his opening 73, and Jamaican Delroy Cambridge (69 70). England’s Gordon J Brand, who played in The 1983 Ryder Cup, is in fifth place on four under par after two rounds of 70.
Darcy said: “I had a couple of bad breaks today but I am very pleased to be where I am – it is more than I expected.
“I was cruising along lovely today until the 15th. I hit a beautiful three wood down the middle of the fairway and it landed in the worst lie you ever saw: it was buried in a big divot. I couldn’t play it because there is water in front of the green. I duffed my second and made a bogey five.
“That was a bit unlucky but at the last I stiffed it for a birdie, so that was a nice way to finish.”
Three shots back on three under par 141 is a delighted Tony Johnstone, who is back playing competitive golf after a remarkable recovery from multiple sclerosis.
The 1992 PGA Championship winner and Sky TV analyst thought he would never play again when the illness was diagnosed two years ago. But he has defied all the odds to be in Venice this week for his European Seniors Tour debut over a real shot-maker’s course at Circolo Golf Venezia, where rounds of 71 and 70 have left the popular Zimbabwean with a chance of a fairytale victory.
“I am just glad to be upright and playing, although I feel tired after the rounds,” admitted Johnstone following his five hour walk under the Venetian sun.
“The one thing with MS is that you are always going to struggle with humidity and I have probably drunk five litres of water a day just to stay hydrated. I have been training and doing everything I can. I am just happy to be back playing and to be in contention going in to the final round is absolutely fantastic.”
However, in terms of pure golf the performance of the day undoubtedly came from Ginn, who produced a faultless 66 to beat the course record by one. The original mark had been set by Palmer in 1979 and equalled by Watine during his victory last year and again by Spaniard Juan Quiros only two hours before Ginn, winner of last year’s Qualifying School, went one lower.
The Australian picked up his first shot at the par three second and then another at the par four third. He then birdied the par five sixth and holed a 15ft putt at the next to move onto four under for his round.
A 20 foot putt for birdie at the 11th set him up for the course record, but for a while he felt the crucial sixth birdie would not come. On the 13th, 14th and 15th greens he narrowly missed from inside 15ft before a superb nine iron approach to the 16th left him with a simple tap-in.
“It is wonderful to come back to Europe and knock Arnold Palmer off the record books, especially as I have just come from the US Champions Tour,” said Ginn.
“The difference for me was that I made some putts today. Yesterday I didn’t hole one, so it owed me a few. I made some nice putts and even left a few out there at 18, 17, 15 and 14.
“I am just happy to come and play here in Europe. I have a few scores to settle with myself as I did not play as well as I would have liked in Europe when I was younger.”
Asked to explain why things did not work out for him back then, Ginn replied: “I had no brains back then. As you get older you mature. I was a bit gung-ho when I was younger and I guess I have matured late in life. But these things happen and you can’t have any regrets.”
