HATTON Hit the front In China
2013-10-18 15:36:33

A closing bogey undid some of his fine work, but after signing for a second round 69 Tyrrell Hatton was still well placed going into the weekend of the Foshan Open. 



Tyrrell Hatton

Hatton arrived in China buoyed by his best ever performance on the Challenge Tour in Kazakhstan, where a joint runner-up finish rocketed the young Englishman to 15th place in the Rankings.  

And Hatton remains on course to claim a place in The 2014 Race to Dubai after moving to nine under par courtesy of six birdies and an eagle at Foshan Golf Club, in Foshan City.

With the top 15 graduating to The European Tour and US$350,000 up for grabs, a top five finish this week would all but secure promotion for the 22 year old, who only turned professional in 2011.

But Hatton will have set his sights on securing his debut Challenge Tour title after establishing a one-shot lead over Spain’s Nacho Elvira, albeit with the afternoon starters yet to complete their rounds.

Hatton said: “Finishing with a bogey always leaves a sour taste in your mouth, but apart from that I played very nicely again today. I’m not sure I’ll be leading by the end of the day, but if you’d told me I’d be the leader in the clubhouse when I finished my second round, I definitely would’ve taken that.

“The result in Kazakhstan helped with my confidence and belief. It’s a shame there wasn’t another tournament between then and now, because I got a little bit rusty in my time off. But if I can cut out some of the silly little mistakes I’m making, hopefully I can push on and have a decent weekend.”

Elvira, meanwhile, pointed to some words of advice and a new putter he received from the current Rankings leader Andrea Pavan as the main reasons behind his recent turnaround in fortunes.

The pair became firm friends after sharing a house at Texas A&M University in the States, where the Italian was part of the first team All-American and was a member of the team which won the NCAA Championship.

Frustrated by a failure to hole his fair share of putts in the early part of the season, Elvira turned to Pavan for help during the Mugello Tuscany Open.

Since then, the Spaniard has recorded three top ten finishes in six appearances, and as a result has risen to 50th in the Rankings – meaning he only needs to climb a further five places to qualify for the season-ending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final in a fortnight’s time.

Elvira, whose six-birdie round of 68 moved him to eight under par, said: “The birdie on the last was the perfect finish to another very good day. I wasn’t really doing too much on the front nine but then something clicked on the back nine, and I started hitting the ball much better.

“My recent results have been very pleasing, and I owe a lot of that to Andrea. He gave me a putting lesson in Italy and he also gave me a putter, which is really working well for me so I definitely owe him a drink or two. Seeing what he’s done this year has really inspired me, and it would be great if we could get onto the Tour together – although I’ve got a bit more work to do than him!”            

Dutchman Wil Besseling currently occupies third place on seven under par after compiling a round of 69.