Golf Links: Saturday, July 29 news and notes

Porsche European Open

There was some rotation at the top of the Porsche European Open leaderboard on Friday and although play was suspended in mid-round because of torrential rains, England’s Ashley Chesters grabbed the clubhouse lead with a bogey-free 67.

Siddikur Rahman, the first Bangladeshi to qualify for the Olympic games, also managed to finish his 2nd round before the rain started and he’s going to start his third round trailing Chesters by one shot. It’s an exciting situation for a guy who’s ranked 394 in the OWGR and is looking for his first victory in his 46th European Tour start.

Still, Rahman needs to temper his expectations. Defending champion Alexander Levy and first round co-leader Richard McEvoy and Stuart Manley are also trailing Chesters by a single shot and they will be among the early starters this morning as they need to complete their 2nd rounds. So by the time moving day actually begins, Ashley Chesters may be in a somewhat different position than he was when he left the course Friday.

The projected -1 cut line may or may not change, depending on the performance of those players who still need to complete their 2nd rounds. Charl Schwartzel and Jimmy Walker need to finish their 2nd rounds but barring a catastrophic breakdown both are well above the projected cut line.

However, top-seeded Patrick Reed, who’s +2 for his 2nd round with three holes remaining, is at -2 for the tournament and can afford another bogey before he risks missing the cut.

Paul Dunne, who needs to complete three holes before the 3rd round starts, is at -1 for the tournament. A bogey would send him home early.

Joost Luiten and Pat Perez, also with incomplete 2nd rounds, probably can’t save themselves.

Play begins this morning at 8am local time (GMT +2) for those needing to complete their 2nd round, and 3rd round play will follow immediately. Golf Channel begins broadcast coverage of the Porsche European Open at 7am ET.