Three Portuguese pass the cut at Internacional de Portugal
The third and penultimate lap was marked by the leader from the first day, the Englishman Frank Kennedy, having taken an important step towards winning the title, by equaling the record of the Montado Hotel & Golf Resort course.
Frank Kennedy scored 8 under, the same result as yesterday by the Italian (Thursday Flavio Michetti.
The Englishman, who last year passed the cut in a DP World Tour tournament at the Hero Open, now has a 3-stroke advantage over Finn Koelle, the German who has been chasing him since the first.
But the most dangerous game for today is a competitor that Kennedy, who played mainly among the under-18s, did not miss any more consistent strokes.
Of the participants, 45 proven12 the cut, verified in +1, the quality of the Portuguese Golf Federation (FPG) are below 34 participants of the Par at 54 holes.
“Today was warmer, the wind was not significant and the players took advantage of that to make good results. It’s worth watching them play in Montado. They really hit far away”, said the national technical director, João Coutinho.
It was a day when Alberto Costa Marques celebrated his 17th birthday, although both missed the cut by 4 shots, and there were two Portuguese following Par – Pedro Clare Neves and Lucas Lopes Azinheiro, playing with -2.
However, the main objective was to qualify on the last lap and this was predicted for the first time by Hugo Camelo Ferreira, while Pedro Clare Neves and João Miguel Pereira repeated last year’s feat.
A year ago, Hugo Camelo Ferreira did not pass the cut, with rounds of 78, 76 and 71, so this year’s result of 214 strokes, 2 under Par, delivering the cards of 70, 72 and 72, shows clear progress .
More was not being dazzled by integrating the top-10 to the 18 holes. That didn’t take away the focus and evened Par off the field for the next two days.
Today, the player from Miramar suffered the first two bogeys of the tournament, on holes 14 (Par-4) and 17 (Par-5), but he also scored 4 birdies, especially the 18th, which kept him at the top. -30, in 28th place (tied).
Pedro Clare Neves also scored 1 birdie on the 18th hole but, in his case, that birdie was the beginning of a sensational recovery that gave him qualification for the last round, with an aggregate of 217 (75+72+70), + 1.
The results of this player from Miramar were always improving and today’s 2 strokes below par confirmed the fiber of the university student of Economics, who already last year needed a third round of 69 (-3) to pass the cut for the first time in this competition.
The most impressive thing is that the birdie on 18 after tergey on 1 double-bogey on 14 and 1 bogey on 14. At that time it was fine for proof, but instead of lowering its head, it was full of claw for the famous Par -3 with the green on an island and made his second birdie of the day (after the 13th).
By the end of the round, he didn’t concede any more and was collecting birdies on holes 3, 7 and 8. Note that there are four Par-3 holes on this course and Pedro Clare Neves got birdies on three of them!
Tied with Clare Neves in the 38th ranked group, passing the cut right at the limit, was João Miguel Pereira, with laps of 74, 69 and 74. It was a nervous turn, as it started well, with an immaculate ‘front nine’ and with 2 birdies (on holes 2 and 4). He was at ease then, but the ‘back nine’ was suffering with 2 double-bogey on 11 and 14, and 1 bogey on 16. He was saved by the birdie on 13.
The presence of three Portuguese players in the last importance of the FPG will have organized a tournament of the FPG Circuit in the past end of the same field.
The best Portuguese amateurs then had the opportunity to challenge some of the best Portuguese professionals, while at the same time they got used to playing conditions in the montado.
And what did these three players do in that 1st FPG Circuit Tournament? Pedro Clare Neves was the best amateur (male) in 7th (+2), Hugo Camelo Ferreira finished 9th (+3) and João Miguel Pereira finished 12th (+4).
Planning and preparing well is often the key to success.
Germany, in the Nations Cup, which ended today, Germany won with 413 strokes, 19 under par, adding daily results of 142, 134 and 137.
Germany, which in the past had been runners-up, this time beat the second team of the Netherlands by two strokes. More impressive is the fact that a third formation from Germany tied the Netherlands for 2nd with 17 under par.
Portugal ranked 14th with 430 (145+143+142), -2, among a total of 32 teams, representing 23 countries.
The 92nd International Amateur Championship of Portugal for men ends tomorrow (Saturday) with the fourth and final round. The first group leaves at 8:30 am from hole 1, with João Pereira on it; Pedro Clare Neves leaves shortly thereafter at 8:40 am; and Hugo Camelo Ferreira at 9:20 am. The last group starts at 10:50 am.
The main rankings and results of the Portuguese after 54 holes are:
1st Frank Kennedy (England), 198 (65+69+64), -18.
2nd Finn Koelle (Germany), 201 (67+68+66), -15.
Portuguese who charge the cut
28th (tied) Hugo Camelo Ferreira, 214 (70+72+72), -2.
38th (tied) João Miguel Pereira, 217 (74+69+74), +1.
38th (tied) Pedro Clare Neves, 217 (75+72+70), +1.
Portuguese who failed to cut
60th (tied) Alberto Costa Marques, 221 (75+71+75), +5.
73rd (tied) João Teixeira e Costa, 223rd (76+70+77), +7.
73rd (tied) Lucas Lopes Azinheiro, 223 (75+78+70), +7.
90th Pedro Sousa Machado, 226 (81+71+74), +10.
95th (tied) Miguel Silveira, 227 (77+72+74), +11.
95th (tied) Tomás Afonso Araújo, 227 (76+72+79), +11.
100th (tied) Filipe Salazar de Sousa, 228 (76+76+76), +12.
102nd (tied) Ricardo Garcia, 229 (78+74+77), +13.
102nd (tied) Konstantin Mikirtumov, 229 (78+78+73), +13.
105th (tied) Afonso da Costa Rodrigues, 230 (78+78+74), +14.
109th (tied) Guilherme Oliva, 231 (77+75+79), +15.
109th (tied) Ricardo Serpa, 231 (81+75+75), +15.
111th José Miguel Franco de Sousa, 234 (78+76+80), +18.
113th (tied) António Mendes, 236 (86+71+79), +20.
114th (tied) Tiago Abrantes, 237 (77+79+81), +21.
114th (tied) Rodrigo Marques Santos, 237 (79+78+80), +21.
117th Gabriel Sardo, 247 (87+83+77), +31.