Eales in contention for Seniors event

St Annes golfer Paul Eales was among the leading contenders in the season-ending MCB Tour Seniors Championship at Constance Belle Mare Plage, Mauritius
Eales - in with a chanceEales - in with a chance
Eales - in with a chance

He was in a share of sixth place on seven under par after two rounds, three adrift of the leading pair.

Eales had scores of 68 and 69 in the opening two rounds.

He won his first Seniors title earlier in the season when landing the Prostate Cancer UK Scottish Senior Open

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Former Ryder Cup players Paul Broadhurst and Barry Lane shared the lead on ten under par

Broadhurst, winner of the Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex at Carnoustie earlier this year and a member of Europe’s victorious 1991 Ryder Cup side, carded the best round of the day, a seven under par 65 to take the clubhouse lead before being joined by Lane who finished in the second to last pair of the afternoon.

The 51 year old is bidding to become the second consecutive player to take home both the MCB Tour Championship title and the John Jacobs Trophy for topping the European Senior Tour Order of Merit, which he had already secured before teeing off in Mauritius, following Colin Montgomerie’s success in 2015.

“I didn’t feel as in control as I did yesterday,” said Broadhurst. “I had a few bad hybrids and a few poor drives, I was lucky to scrape par on the last.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“My game is close, but it’s close to being the other way as well. I’d have taken that score this morning, you’re always happy to be in contention.

“There aren’t many scoreboards on the back nine, so I wasn’t sure how I was doing until I played 17. I guess you’ll have to get to 15 or 16 under to win this.

“The usual suspects are at the top of the leaderboard, so I’ll need a low one tomorrow.”

Lane, who represented Europe in 1993 at The Belfry, birdied the par five 18th hole to join Broadhurst at the top of the leaderboard after his five under par round of 67.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The 56 year old has been a runner-up twice in Mauritius and is determined to go one better in 2016.

“I’ve played really well for two days, I think I’ve hit just three bad shots,” said Lane. “It should be really good fun tomorrow.

“You know you’ll have to shoot 65 or 66 tomorrow, so it’s just a case of attack, attack.”

Also in the hunt heading into the final day are the Ryder Cup pair of Montgomerie and Phillip Price and South Africa’s David Frost.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Senior Open Champion Broady is there,” added Lane “And there’s Monty who finished second in America and Pricey who came second in Italy. Tomorrow will be a really fun day.”

The trio share third place on nine under par and former Ryder Cup captain Montgomerie was pleased to be in the hunt in his bid for a second consecutive MCB Tour Championship title.“I was disappointed not to birdie the last again but we’re okay, we’re in there,” said Montgomerie. “There are a few of us in the same boat, so it’s good. I’m in position and I’ll look forward to tomorrow.”

Eales shared sixth place with James Kingston going into the third and final round.

Related topics: