SSP Chawrasia misses Irish Open cut; Marc Warren and Danny Willett share the lead

European Tour Release

May 21, 2016: Marc Warren carded an exceptional round of 66 to join Danny Willett at the top of the leaderboard at the midway stage of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation, with World Number Three and tournament host Rory McIlroy just a shot behind. SSP Chawrasia had a bad day at the office as he tumbled out the tournament with an eighty in the second round.

Chawrasia bled four bogeys and three double bogeys including a series of poor holes on either side of his march around the course. He went four over when he made bogey-double-bogey starting at the 5th hole.

The golfer from Kolkata sandwiched a bogey at the 11th between birdies at 8 & 14, but he soon suffered yet another slump to kill any chances at survival. Chawrasia shot double bogeys at 15 and 17, with a bogey at the 16th thrown in between.

The Masters Tournament champion came into the second round two shots clear of McIlroy at The K Club, and all eyes were on the two highest-ranked players in the field as they slugged it out for supremacy.

Twice McIlroy caught Willett, but twice the World Number Nine pulled away again before Warren birdied three of his last four holes to set the clubhouse target on eight under par.

“I hit it well in places, but it was a bit scrappy at times. It was cold this morning and windy as well at times, plus there were a couple of sneakier pins today, so scoring wasn’t as easy. So fair play to Marc [Warren], 66 today was a fantastic score” – said Danny Willett.

A late bogey saw Willett sign for a round of 71 and fall back alongside Warren on eight under par, with McIlroy recording a 70 as he made the cut at his home Open for the first time in four years.

Willett has two wins to his name this season while McIlroy has not finished outside the top ten in five appearances on the European Tour, but it was a stunning return to form for Warren after missing six cuts in nine starts.

“Today was a little bit erratic in places. I still made six birdies, so I gave myself plenty of chances out there and took care of the par fives, but I also made a few too many mistakes. I missed a few more greens today, which is because I missed a few more fairways, so I need to tidy that up. I hit a few more positive putts on my back nine, but I wasn’t great with the putter for the first few holes” – said Rory McIlroy.

The Scotsman closed with two birdies to sign for his lowest round of the season so far. His 66 was later matched by compatriot Russell Knox, who defied persistent afternoon rain to climb into a share of eighth place on three under par.

Matthew Southgate was one of a handful to make a move late in the day, although the Englishman was disappointed to have dropped two shots in his last five holes. Still, a round of 69 was good enough to move Southgate up to fourth place on five under par.

Second Round Scores (cut on 146, +2):

136 D Willett (Eng) 65 71, M Warren (Sco) 70 66,
137 R McIlroy (Nir) 67 70,
139 M Southgate (Eng) 70 69,
140 J Van Zyl (RSA) 68 72, T Hatton (Eng) 72 68, R Sterne (RSA) 72 68,
141 B Dredge (Wal) 71 70, B Rumford (Aus) 69 72, R Ramsay (Sco) 70 71, E Pepperell (Eng) 71 70, J Campillo (Esp) 72 69, C Shinkwin (Eng) 68 73, R Knox (Sco) 75 66, C Wood (Eng) 71 70, S Gros (Fra) 71 70, J Donaldson (Wal) 71 70,
142 A Otaegui (Esp) 73 69, F Aguilar (Chi) 71 71, M Kaymer (Ger) 69 73, R Jacquelin (Fra) 73 69, K Broberg (Swe) 74 68, S Gallacher (Sco) 71 71,
143 R Cabrera Bello (Esp) 72 71, D Lipsky (USA) 72 71, L Haotong (Chn) 73 70, S Kjeldsen (Den) 69 74, G Moynihan (Irl) 72 71, T Jaidee (Tha) 71 72, P McGinley (Irl) 72 71, G McDowell (Nir) 71 72, N Fasth (Swe) 70 73, N Colsaerts (Bel) 72 71,
144 T Olesen (Den) 72 72, D Clarke (Nir) 73 71, R Dinwiddie (Eng) 72 72, L Westwood (Eng) 72 72, R Bland (Eng) 70 74, R Kakko (Fin) 71 73, R Paratore (Ita) 72 72, O Fisher (Eng) 73 71, P Larrazábal (Esp) 74 70, R Fisher (Eng) 69 75, G Hurley (Irl) 73 71,
145 M Korhonen (Fin) 72 73, G Bourdy (Fra) 72 73, G Boyd (Eng) 72 73, P Dunne (Irl) 70 75, K Phelan (Irl) 75 70, R McGowan (Eng) 73 72, R Wattel (Fra) 75 70, N Elvira (Esp) 70 75, R Green (Aus) 75 70, A Cañizares (Esp) 73 72, M Kieffer (Ger) 77 68,
146 C Lee (Sco) 73 73, S Lowry (Irl) 71 75, B Wiesberger (Aut) 71 75, R Gouveia (Por) 75 71, M Ford (Eng) 72 74, T Fisher Jnr (RSA) 73 73, A Wu (Chn) 72 74, B Virto Astudillo (Esp) 74 72, J Morrison (Eng) 70 76, R Karlberg (Swe) 73 73