Alex Noren is eyeing a rare Scottish double at the Aberdeen Asset Management Paul Lawrie Match Play just four weeks after lifting the Scotland’s national Open championship.
The Swede continued his love affair with the Home of Golf on the links turf of Archerfield as he dispatched Italian Renato Paratore and Spaniard Nacho Elvira in the second and third rounds of the straight knock-out competition to charge into the quarter-finals.
Noren will face Johan Carlsson in the last eight after his fellow Swede took the scalps of home favourite Marc Warren and Englishman Chris Paisley on day two of the €1 million event.
Tournament host Paul Lawrie was shown the second round exit door by Australian Richard Green, who birdied the 18th hole to force extra holes and defeat the 1999 Open champion in sudden-death.
Green’s joy was short lived though, with Englishman Anthony Wall, who had triumphed over Richard Bland earlier in the day, giving Green a taste of his own medicine by winning their match at the first extra hole.
Wall will face Hayden Porteous of South Africa in the quarter-finals after Porteous defeated David Horsey and then Scotland’s Marc Warren to progress to the last eight.
The other two quarter-finals will be contested between Max Kieffer (who defeated Miko Ilonen and Daniel Brooks) and Oli Fisher (winner over Simon Khan and Richie Ramsay); while James Morrison defeated Graeme Storm and Michael Hoey to set up a last eight battle with Alejandro Cañizares after the Spaniard took down countryman Eduardo De La Riva before dispatching Ryder Cup hopeful Matt Fitzpatrick in round three.
Number one seed Chris Wood, another player who looks likely to represent Europe at Hazeltine in September, also made an early exit – going down 2&1 to Brooks in round two.
European Tour Release
