TOURNAMENT HOST DANNY Willett is seeking to give the trophy to himself after forcing his way back into contention on Fridayโs second day of the British Masters at The Belfry.
Irish trio Paul Dunne, Jonathan Caldwell and Cormac Sharvin all missed the cut: Dunne and Caldwell finished at plus-7, while Sharvinโs rounds of 81 and 76 left him at plus-13.
Willett made a slow start and was three over par after 12 holes in his first round before carding a 73 to finish Thursday one over par.
But the former US Masters champion surged back into contention with a second-round 65 featuring eight birdies on the Sutton Coldfield course near Birmingham.
โToday felt like myself. Yesterday felt like my brother,โ joked Willett, who is six under par after two rounds, three shots behind halfway leader Hurly Long.
โIt would be amazing to win the British Masters regardless of whether youโre hosting or not,โ Willett added. โItโs a big event, thereโs been some great winners, some great hosts.
โBut to be able to pass myself the trophy would be a pretty cool experience. Thereโs still a long way to go but we can all hope and dream.โ
Long started his second round in steady fashion with nine straight pars before he birdied five of his next six holes.
The German bogeyed his final hole but finished on nine under par, a shot ahead of Scot Richie Ramsay and Dane Thorbjorn Olesen, with another Dane, Rasmus Hojgaard, one stroke further back.
Long is in his first season on the DP World (European) Tour but finished third and second in back-to-back starts earlier this year.
โI think thatโs certainly going to help me,โ said Long, born in Heidelberg to an American father (Tom, a golf professional) and a German mother.
โIโve been in this situation before. Iโm really looking forward to it, thereโs a lot of good players near the top of the leaderboard so it should be a good test and a lot of fun,โ he added.
Its not every week you would have a South African cutting all ties in playing with his country to play for Ireland. I would say best of luck to him. He might teach the Ulster players the national anthem is well.
Delighted to have you Mr Strauss. The more of you the better. Who needs home-grown players anyway? Big Jack certainly showed us how!
agree. what has nationailty got to do with anything anyway. surely, the days of โnationailsmโ are over (except for enterprises like The Shakedown). ireland is made up of people from all over the place now. if you live here, why not be allowed to play for the irish team?
@Ian
Over the years, many Ulster players were threatened by Loyalists about singing the National Anthem so many still donโt
What do ya mean? Sure wasnโt Tommy Bowe belting it out!
To expect Northern players to sing the national anthem of the Republic of Ireland is as ludicrous as expecting the Southern players to sing God Save the Queen
They are playing for IRELAND. They should sing the IRISH anthem. Itโs about time we did away with that clap trap Irelandโs Callโฆ.such an embarrassment. Likening it to the southern lads singing god save the queen is a ludicrous argument. Itโs the IRISH rugby team!
@PatD
Yes, its the IRISH rugby team, not the Rep of Ireland rugby team. If Richardt wanted to show his commitment to the country he has made his home then I have no problem with it (and fair play to him for it). Just as I have no problem with any of the lads taking pride in signing their national anthem on home soil. But its not the anthem of the team nor should it be. The team is made up of Irish men from every county including those in NI, it transcends political borders and all the shรญte that goes with bickering over those borders and long may it stay that way.
New Zealand have been doing exactly the same thing with Fuji and Samoa for years!
Congratulations to Richard. Weโre delighted to have you.
If i was Rory best id be an extremely worried hooker
Tommy Bowe is an Ulsterman true, but also a Monaghan man.
Actually a Kildare man. Born and bred in Rathangan. Go and ask himโฆ
The family did move to Monaghan afterwards I might add. Not to offend the Monaghan clan.
Strauss has a way to go yet to match Besty. Rory Best has one of the highest tackle counts in Irish rugby, hits his man and is a very good scrummager. The only hooker in Ireland needing to be worried is Cronin, who could see his bench place taken by Richardt.
The most important thing is he wants to play for Ireland after that if heโs the best ( no pun intended ) hooker then he plays. Iโm happy heโs with us.
Chris, some sort of record โ 48 thumbs up and no thumbs down!!!
Straussy is a legend!! Loved him singing the anthem
absolutely
hypocrisy,if o Driscoll or paul o Connell cut all ties with Ireland and joined England and sang god save the queen youโd all be out with your pitchfork and flaming torches baying for blood
As far as i know a former ulster player , Irish born and bred, recently declared for the scotch
your irish now boy keep up the good work
delighted to see Richardt declaring for Ireland, best of luck in your international carreer