Welsh international James Ashfield will continue his Spanish International Men’s Amateur challenge tomorrow as the number one seed thanks to a brilliant display in the wind at Infinitum Lakes near Barcelona.
FORMAT: 36-hole stroke play / 6 rounds of matchplay
The Delamere Forest player shot rounds of 70 and 68 to lead the stroke play qualifier by one ahead of Spain’s Luis Masaveu Roncal and in the morning will tackle Glencorse’s Mitchell Cowie for a place in the last 32.
Ashfield was one of 18 Brits to make it through to the matchplay stages with Walker Cup hopefuls Arron Edwards-Hill (Chelmsford) and Connor Graham (Blairgowrie) also coping well in the difficult conditions. The Essex player was just two back of the leader in a tie for third and the Scottish teenager (6th) was also under par for his 36 holes.
Ashfield, who did not reach the matchplay stages last year, is hoping the wind continues to blow as he looks to make a big impression in the first major competition of this Walker Cup year.
“I managed to get 27 holes of practice in and on the first nine it blowed a gale,” said the 21-year-old.
“I played really well and carried that into yesterday. My mindset was I knew par was going to be a good score and I drove it really well. I also putted really well too and my confidence is high.”
Ashfield almost registered a hole-in-one yesterday as he opened with a one-under par total. At the seventh he hit a big hook into a left-to-right wind and it came to rest just two inches from the cup.
He added: “I don’t know how it didn’t go in to be honest.”
Today he just missed three greens in compiling a second-round 68 to take him above Edwards-Hill, who led after day one (67) and then followed that up with a 73.
Tomorrow the top 64 do battle and there is an all-Scottish battle with Blairgowrie’s Gregor Graham taking on New Club’s John Paterson while two new England squad members face off at the bottom of the draw – Enville’s James Claridge and English Amateur runner-up George Ash (Hallowes).