Quiros oveshadows big name players

Although he no longer has a European Tour playing card, Spanish veteran Juan Quiros overshadowed the array of stars in the Spanish Open on Saturday to capture a one-shot lead after the second round.

Quiros, 44, who has been on and off the European Tour several times in the last decade and again lost his card last year. But he bettered the likes of compatriots Sergio Garcia, Jose Maria Olazabal and Seve Ballesteros, as well as European number one Colin Montgomerie, when he shot a two-under-par 70 in breezy conditions.

This took the sturdy Spaniard to eight-under-par 134, a stroke better than England's Gary Evans, with Montgomerie sharing third place on six-under with New Zealander Stephen Scahill.

Leader Quiros built his position on four birdies over his front side but felt he could have fared even better with a hotter putter.

"It could have been 28, 29 or at least 30 going out because I played the best golf of my life," he said.

"I hit some good putts from the six-foot mark which just wouldn't go in.

"I'm very pleased with this, though. I lost my card again last year after playing only seven tournaments, but I won our OKI tournament at the end of last year and it gave me heart.

"Now I've given myself a chance of getting the card back by winning here."

Second-placed Evans, a former Walker Cup amateur whose early career was blighted by a serious wrist injury, has been tuning up at Callaway's Carlsbad headquarters. He tried out the 'ERC' trampoline-effect driver, which has been banned by the United States Golf Association but not by the Royal & Ancient, which controls golf's rules in the rest of the world.

"I'm not using it yet but I hope to by the Benson and Hedges International in a fortnight," said Evans, 31, and without a win yet on tour.

"It should be quite useful to me because I don't hit the ball that far. I don't think it should be banned and I feel the USGA jumped in too quickly to ban it in America.

Third-placed Montgomerie decided to add this event to his schedule purposely to try to find a good putting stroke before tackling the US Open next month but he ran up 33 putts and spent three hours on the practice green after a 71 in which he bogeyed two of the last three holes, one with a three-putt.

Overnight leader Dean Robertson made a poor start and slipped five off the pace with a 76.

Garcia is eight shots off the lead after a 74 and Olazabal nine behind, double-bogeying the last for a 76.

Ballesteros again made a fine start, picking up three shots in his first six holes but he then subsided to another 75 to miss the cut by three.

Email this page to a friend | Return to top of page