RIFFA – Ryder Cup duo Paul Casey of England and Sweden’s Peter Hanson shared a one shot lead at 16 under par after the penultimate round of the European Tour’s inaugural 1.7 million euro Volvo Golf Champions here on Saturday. Casey made four birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round of six-under par 66, while Hanson started with a three-putt bogey on the first hole before making a similar number of birdies and an eagle as Casey for a 67. That gave the European Ryder Cup winning duo a one-shot lead at 16-under par 200.
Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke made three birdies in the first five holes and then cooled down a bit to add only two more in the next 13 for a round of five-under 67, the same as South African James Kingston, as the duo moved up to tied third place at 201. Spain’s Miguel Angel Jimenez reunited with his putter, again missed several short birdie putts for a frustrating round of 69 for sole possession of fifth place at 202.
Casey, who could have taken the lead but missed a four-footer birdie putt on the final hole, was hoping that 666, his room number at the hotel here, would continue to prove lucky on Sunday. Casey has already won both the pro-ams – one on Wednesday and the other Saturday – and said it was the first time in his career that he has won any pro-am.
“If that’s another pro am win, hopefully we will cap it off with an actual tournament victory tomorrow (Sunday), which would be three wins, and that would be very nice.” Despite the three-putt bogey start, Hanson said it was his putting which has made the real difference this week. “I have to say I’m very happy with the way I fought myself around this course, and my putting. I made some really good putts today during the turn, so I’m really feeling good standing over the putter,” said Hanson.
