It was a rollercoaster day with six players holding at least a share of the lead at various points throughout the second round. There was a five-way tie at the summit with just a few holes to play, before Tinning birdied the 18th to sneak ahead at -6. The final round promises to be an epic battle with 18 players within five shots of the lead on a tricky layout.
The Dane was out in the final group off the 1st tee and bogeyed his opening hole. He reeled off three red numbers in a row from 6, but a blemish on 9 saw him out in 35. He was outside the top-10 at this stage before another hat trick of birdies at 12, 13 and 14 thrust him into contention. A bogey at 17 was sandwiched between birdies at 16 and 18, both of which prompted big fist pumps from the two-time DP World Tour winner.
“It was a great round and I played really well,” said Tinning, who has also won twice on the Legends Tour in 2013. “I played well yesterday too but didn’t make the putts, and today they just rolled in. It was a little frustrating to begin with because I didn’t make the best of it, but I stayed patient. That was probably the key. I hit some really, really good shots from the 5th, so that turned it all around, and then I started making putts on the back nine.”
He’s feeling very relaxed ahead of the final round: “A nice late tee time tomorrow. I can sleep in and enjoy life. It’s no problem going into tomorrow. I’ve been on tour for 28 years, so I’ll take it easy and see what happens. If I win tomorrow it means I’m getting my third trophy out here – and I love that!”
2018 WINSTONgolf Senior Open champion Stephen Dodd recovered from a pair of bogeys in his first five holes, and two-over-par for the day through 14, with three birdies in his last four holes to shoot a 71 and sit alone in 2nd on -5.
The tournament is still wide open with six players tied for 3rd just two shots off the lead – Adilson da Silva, Peter Baker, Raymond Russell, Scott Hend, Phillip Archer and Lionel Alexandre.
Overnight leader Alexandre got to -7 when he holed a greenside bunker shot for an eagle at the par-5 3rd (his 12th), but he slipped back with a bogey at 7 and double bogey at 8. He wasn’t the only player to reach -7, as MCB Road to Mauritius leader Baker also got to that number by the turn, before coming home in 39 strokes on the front nine.
Da Silva, a three-time winner this season, started on the 10th and had six birdies in his first 14 holes of the day to climb to -6 before back-to-back bogeys at 6 and 7. It was a topsy-turvy day for Legends Tour debutant Hend as his second successive 70 contained seven birdies and five bogeys, while the highlight of Russell’s 71 was a brilliant holed approach shot for eagle at the par-4 7th. Archer completes the logjam at -4 following his superb 66 – the second best round of the day behind Jarmo Sandelin’s 65.
Visit www.legendstour.com to see the full leaderboard, final round tee times and find out more about the WINSTONgolf Senior Open at WINSTONgolf, Germany.
