Warren and von Dellingshausen in command in Austria
Marc Warren. Picture: Getty Images
Gavin Moynihan slipped back to 62nd on three-over after a 76 as Germany’s Nicolai von Dellingshausen and Scotland’s Marc Warren overcame heavy rain to claim a share of the 54-hole lead in the Austrian Open at Diamond Country Club.
Following Friday’s blistering, 35C heat, persistent rain did not deter Von Dellingshausen (27) and Warren (39) who carded 70’s to lead by one stroke from the Netherlands’ Darius Van Driel, Scotland’s Connor Syme and Spain’s Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez on 11-under-par.
The top-18 players on the leaderboard are covered by just five strokes with Warren seeking his fourth European Tour victory and his first since 2014 Made in Denmark while Von Dellingshausen is bidding for a maiden title.
Syme celebrated his 25th birthday in some style, recording the only bogey-free round of the day – a three-under-par 69. Making his 26th European Tour start this week, Syme’s best result to date came on this golf course in 2018 when he finished runner-up to Mikko Korhonen at the Shot Clock Masters.
The Netherlands’ Joost Luiten, the 2013 Austrian Open champion, shares sixth place on nine under par with Germany’s Marcel Schneider and Joël Stalter of France.
But it was a poor day for veteran Miguel Angel Jiménez (56), the overnight leader, whose 77 left him five strokes off the lead, tied for 12th on six-under.
Player quotes
Marc Warren: “Probably as wet coming off today as I was yesterday but with water today instead of sweat. It was incredibly different conditions, teeing off it was the heaviest rain we’d had all day. It was a grind from the start, so it was good to get round in under par.
“We were thinking if it carried on like that we wouldn’t be out there much longer, but the golf course held up incredibly well. I didn’t see one bit of water on the greens. From that standpoint, we were in no danger of coming off. Around the turn, it was apparent it was going to be a day where you just had to be there and keep your name on the leaderboard.
“I was just playing for pars, playing sensible golf and waited for the birdies instead of trying to go and get them. A couple of good short irons set up two good chances on three and four. It was nice to get a couple of birdies early on.
“As the day goes on everything gets wetter and wetter, it’s tough to keep the clubs dry. You’re trying to do all that and concentrate on hitting the shot as well. It was a long day. It was a good birdie on 15, I was pleased to be one under on the last four or five.
“I know what to expect. Some guys haven’t won before, they might not know what to expect. I’m pretty comfortable with the situation I’m in. Hopefully, a good front nine tomorrow and I’ll be in with a chance to win.”
Nicolai von Dellingshausen: “I was a little bit surprised. I find it difficult to play in the rain, probably more so than others do, but I had a really good start to the round. Hit some consistent, solid shots and holed some putts, so it went fairly fast. It was difficult out there and I knew there would be some trouble during the round, but I was solid.
“It was playing completely different to the days before. No roll basically, long irons into the greens where we had been hitting wedges in, so considering the rain today I was quite happy when I was somewhere close to the hole and could make those putts.
“I missed it personally. I think with the break we all had from tournament golf, I made a step in the right direction being off the golf course and having time to reflect, to really have fun going out there and just playing again. I think that is the case up here now, I am really happy to be here doing my job again.”
Connor Syme: “It was a brilliant birthday for sure. When we were going down the first, I don’t think we were too optimistic about finishing the round to be honest it was so wet, but it did definitely die down a little bit. It was persistent rain all day, so very delighted with my score.
“I started off really well. I wasn’t really out of position for seven holes, then got in a bit of trouble at the eighth, but played an unbelievable shot – a five wood sliced around the trees – after hitting it in the water and rolled it in for par, so that kept things going and then birdied the ninth which was a playing hard today.
“The whole goal was to minimise my mess. Pick the right shot, make sure I was doing the right thing and look after what I can control.”
Austrian Open, Diamond Country Club, Atzenbrugg, Austria (Par 72)
205 M Warren (Sco) 66 69 70, N Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 68 67 70
206 D Van Driel (Ned) 71 65 70, C Syme (Sco) 67 70 69, S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 70 67 69
207 J Luiten (Ned) 65 70 72, J Stalter (Fra) 68 69 70, M Schneider (Ger) 69 69 69
209 C Howie (Sco) 66 69 74, S Vincent (Zim) 71 66 72, A John (Ger) 69 70 70
210 M Jiménez (Esp) 68 65 77, R Paratore (Ita) 68 67 75, O Lengden (Swe) 69 68 73, C Mivis (Bel) 68 70 72, P Eriksson (Swe) 67 73 70, O Lindell (Fin) 69 71 70, A Saddier (Fra) 70 72 68
211 W Besseling (Ned) 68 69 74, N Hojgaard (Den) 67 73 71, J Catlin (Usa) 71 69 71
212 T Detry (Bel) 68 71 73, R Karlberg (Swe) 72 68 72
213 C Pigem (Esp) 70 69 74, M Ford (Eng) 71 68 74, B Ritthammer (Ger) 74 65 74, L Gagli (Ita) 72 69 72, M Siem (Ger) 73 68 72, M Lampert (Ger) 71 72 70
214 J Wrisdale (Eng) 70 69 75, C Ross (Sco) 70 70 74, D Lawson (Aus) 73 67 74, D Huizing (Ned) 70 71 73, M Baldwin (Eng) 71 72 71, H Long (Ger) 73 70 71, M Habeler (Aut) 73 70 71, R Kakko (Fin) 73 70 71
215 F Mory (Fra) 70 68 77, E De La Riva (Esp) 68 71 76, H Sturehed (Swe) 70 70 75, P Edberg (Swe) 71 71 73, R De Sousa (Sui) 73 69 73, J Fahrbring (Swe) 72 71 72, D Borda (Esp) 74 69 72
216 J Thomson (Eng) 68 70 78, J Sjoholm (Swe) 71 68 77, O Lieser (Cze) 72 68 76, A Karlsson (Swe) 69 72 75, S Henry (Sco) 69 73 74, T Clements (Eng) 75 67 74, D Boote (Wal) 73 70 73
217 G Bourdy (Fra) 70 71 76, P Oriol (Esp) 71 70 76, C Hanna (Usa) 72 69 76
218 A Knappe (Ger) 71 69 78, N Moller (Den) 69 72 77, L Nemecz (Aut) 70 71 77, A Arnaus (Esp) 70 71 77, S Tarrio (Esp) 71 70 77, P Langfors (Swe) 72 69 77, J Girrbach (Sui) 70 72 76
219 A Zemmer (Ita) 73 68 78, Gavin Moynihan (Irl) 69 74 76, A Rozner (Fra) 74 69 76
220 M Kieffer (Ger) 70 70 80, J Lando Casanova (Fra) 69 73 78, R Roussel (Fra) 70 72 78, R Van West (Ned) 71 71 78, F Laporta (Ita) 73 70 77
221 M Simonsen (Den) 69 71 81, M Schmitt (Ger) 72 70 79, E Di Nitto (Ita) 71 72 78
222 L Scalise (Ita) 67 75 80
