Del Moral Shoots the Numbers

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Carlos del Moral carded a nine-under-par 63 as he swept to the top of the leaderboard on the fourth day of the European Tour's Qualifying School in northern Spain.

With two rounds still to play, the 28-year-old from Valencia holds a one-stroke advantage over Fabrizio Zanotti and Daniel Brooks, both of whom enjoyed bogey-free days over the Stadium Course at Girona.

New leader del Moral, who teed off in a tie-for-26th, posted seven birdies and an eagle in 13 holes from the third to put himself in pole position to re-claim his Tour card.

Paraguay's Zanotti shot 68, while Englishman Brooks had a 66.

At the end of 108 holes on Friday, the leading 25 pros and ties will earn their cards for the 2014 season.

At present, the leading 35 players are separated by just seven strokes with Wednesday's cut leaving 71 golfers to fight it out over the final 36 holes.

The last two rounds will be staged over the Stadium Course, which shared duties with the Tour course over the first four days, and this pleases del Moral whose caddy this week is his girlfriend.

He said: "I feel much more comfortable playing this tougher Stadium Course.

"I just feel a lot looser playing it. The Tour course feels a little smaller.

"I'm looking forward to the next two rounds on this course, especially when the other guys seem to think it is tougher.

"I know it sounds silly but I don't feel like that. I seem to know this one much better."

As for some of the bigger names returning on Thursday for the fifth round, 2008 Ryder Cup rookie Oliver Wilson is tied-for-36th and remains well in the hunt.

Wilson is one stroke behind Bradley Dredge, Fredrik Andersson Hed and Richard Finch.

One of those scraping into the final two rounds is Ben Evans who covered the back nine on Wednesday in 31 shots - including a birdie three at the last - to make the cut without a stroke to spare. At two-under-par, Evans is 12 strokes adrift of del Moral.

But disappointment for a trio of three-time European Tour winners Pablo Martin, Johan Edfors and Nick Dougherty.

Martin, whose fourth round 65 closed him to within three shots of the cut mark, will rue a 78 on Tuesday, while Edfors and Dougherty missed out by nine and 11 strokes respectively.

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Dougherty and Wilson Praise Galgorm

Nick Dougherty and Oliver Wilson led the glowing tributes from the Challenge Tour players after the hugely successful first staging of the Northern Ireland Open Challenge presented by Clannah and XJET.

Having played professional golf at the very highest in every corner of the globe, there are few better judges than three time European Tour winner Dougherty and former Ryder Cup player Wilson when it comes to assessing the quality of an event.

With almost 21,000 people visiting the tournament during the week, and an outstanding test of golf at Galgorm Castle, the Northern Ireland Open Challenge has quickly established itself as one of the Challenge Tour’s strongest events.

Wilson said: “This is the best Challenge Tour event I have played. Simple as that. From the moment you drive in the gates here at Galgorm you just get the sense that there is an event on. Everything you would expect from a Tour event is here, from the tented village to hospitality and the most important thing of all – good crowds.

“The facilities are first class and the set-up is as good as you will find anywhere on the Challenge Tour.

“Then you get out onto the golf course and you find a real good test. The greens are in the top three that we will putt on all year. It is so nice to play on a golf course that really asks questions of you and forces you to think about your strategy and to play good shots. 

“I have played well this week and I think a big part of that is the fact that it feels like a big event and that has an effect on players. Obviously I am just starting to play better and coming into better form, but I do think that the set-up here and feeling around the event has played a part in me performing well.” 

Dougherty added: “This tournament has been great. It feels like a step-up from the usual events on the Challenge Tour. To have such big crowds in has been amazing and I was lucky enough to have a lot of people following me round and it felt like being at a main Tour event. 

“The golf course matches that as well. We are playing on a course this week that I would consider one of the best we will play on this year. It is nicely defined and the greens are outstanding. The whole set-up and conditioning of the golf course is worth of The European Tour so it has been a great experience. 

“It just shows you what can be achieved when you put the effort in and have good people working on events and that is clearly the case here. I have been speaking to a few people associated with the club this week and they are very ambitious and have a very clear plan of and having spent the week here I have no doubt they can achieve those goals.”

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Dutch Daan Takes Route 66

Dutchman Daan Huizing will take a six-shot lead into the final round of the Northern Ireland Open after producing a flawless 66 on Saturday.

Huizing kept a bogey off his card to be six ahead of Sweden's Jens Dantorp, England's James Heath and Germany's Bernd Ritthammer going into Sunday.

2008 Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson is in fifth spot seven off the pace.

Jonathan Caldwell is the leading Irish player in share of 12th place on five under after firing a 71 on Saturday.

Ballymena amateur Dermot McElroy lost ground as a disappointing opening 12 holes led to him carding a three-over 74 which dropped him back to a share of 36th on two under.

Derry man Michael McGeady, who was only one off the pace after his 65 on Thursday, also slipped back to two under after a 74 which included five bogeys in marked contrast to his nine birdies on day one.

Mourne amateur Reeve Whitson performed creditably as a one-over 72 left him on one under but the big talking point at the Ballymena course was Huizing's dominant performance in front of over 6,000 spectators.

The 22-year-old Dutchman has now gone 35 holes without a bogey at Galgorm Castle as his rounds of 65, 66 and 66 put in control of the tournament.

Huizing started his round with six pars on Saturday but four birdies in six holes from the seventh saw him pull away from the field.

Even a run of five straight pars from the 13th didn't see his advantage trimmed and for good measure, he birdied the last to put further daylight between him and the trio on 10 under.

"It took me a few holes to relax into the round today but once I did that I managed to play really well and take a few chances," said Huizing, who has produced four top five Challenge Tour finishes in just six appearances this season.

"To be six ahead is really good because I can probably be a little bit more conservative tomorrow."

Englishman Heath's six-birdie 65 moved him into a share of second place with Swede Dantorp (69) and first-round joint-leader Ritthammer (68).

European Ryder Cup star from 2008 Wilson showed that he is edging back to some kind of form as his 68 left him alone in fifth place on nine under.

"At the start of the year, I was playing absolutely terribly. I didn't know where the ball was going but it has been getting better over the last month or so," Wilson told BBC Sport.

Wilson's compatriot Sam Walker charged up the leaderboard after squeezing into the weekend action on the cut mark of one under as he equalled the best round of the week with his 64, which included an eagle at the ninth.

Clandeboye man Caldwell battled back well with two late birdies which helped undo some of the damage of three straight bogeys from the ninth as he signed for a 71.

Amateur McElroy opened with five pars on Saturday but a dropped shot at the sixth was then followed by three straight bogeys after the turn.

McElroy's lone birdie came at the last which left him on two under alongside McGeady.

Former Madrid Masters champion Ross McGowan, who shared second place overnight, tumbled down the leaderboard as a 76 dropped him to three under while three-time European Tour winner Nick Dougherty is on one under after a disappointing 73.

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McGeady in NI Open Mix

Michael McGeady is one behind the leaders after firing a six-under 65 on day one in the Northern Ireland Open at Galgorm Castle.

McGeady was one behind German Bernd Ritthammer and England's James Ruth.

Ross McGowan, Norway's Jens Dantorp and Scot Andrew McArthur and Dutchman Daan Huizing joined McGeady on 65.

Nick Dougherty and Oliver Wilson both showed a return to form as they carded rounds of 66 with Gareth Shaw firing a 68 and Michael Hoey on 70.

Nuremberg-born Ritthammer, who finished second in the Challenge de Espana event in June, fired a flawless seven-birdie 64 as he took advantage of the benign conditions at the Ballymena course and was later joined by 28-year-old Plymouth native Ruth.

Donegal-based McGeady is playing in only his second Challenge Tour event of the year.

McGeady, 35, has a Challenge Tour victory to his name after triumphing at the Wales Challenge in 2008 but lost his card for the second-tier European circuit at the end of the 2011 season.

However, McGeady clearly likes the Galgorm course as he achieved top-six finishes in the two most recent EuroPro events staged at the Ballymena venue.

The Derry man's round on Thursday included a remarkable nine birdies as he produced tidy halves of 32 and 33.

Former Madrid Masters champion McGowan, who narrowly missed out on earning a Ryder Cup place in 2010, also carded a 65 which was highlighted by an eagle-three at the last.

Dougherty, who like McGowan is now aged 31, has had three European Tour wins in his career but he has struggled badly for form over the past three seasons.

Liverpool-born Dougherty has earned less than £400 in 10 Challenge Tour events this season and lies 252nd in the rankings.

However, he showed signs of a return to form on Thursday in his seven-birdie 66 while 2008 European Ryder Cup player Wilson dropped only one shot as he matched Dougherty's round.

Also on 66 was another Englishman Andrew Johnston whose round included a hole in one at the seventh.

Ballymena amateur Dermot McElroy was in a large group sharing 15th place on 67

Local hope Shaw found himself at one over par on two occasions in his opening nine but five birdies in nine holes saw him improve to four under before he finished with a disappointing six at the long 18th.

Shaw, who shared fifth place at the Irish Open in June, is currently chasing a European Tour card for 2014 both from the Race to Dubai and Challenge Tour routes.

Shaw's 68 was matched by former Walker Cup player Jonathan Caldwell and Alan Dunbar but favourite and tournament ambassador Hoey carded a rather scrappy 70 which included four bogeys.

Recent Russian Open champion Hoey bogeyed three of his opening six holes to slip to two over and needed birdies at the 15th and last to better par.

Dunbar's 2011 Walker Cup team-mate Paul Cutler faces a battle to make Friday evening's cut after an opening 74.

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