Colsaerts keeps in touch
Nicolas Colsaerts kept his hopes of a Ryder Cup call-up alive with a three-under 69 at the Johnnie Walker Championship.
Nicolas Colsaerts kept his hopes of a Ryder Cup call-up alive after carding a three-under-par 69 on day one of the Johnnie Walker Championship.
Norwegian Knut Borsheim and Brett Rumford from Australia are the leaders at five-under while a group of five, which includes Mark Foster, Paul Lawrie and Francesco Molinari are at four.
All eyes were on the 29-year-old Colsaerts though as he requires a top two finish to book his ticket to Illinois next month.
Should he fail to finish in the top two, Colsaerts could yet face the United Statse as one of European captain Jose Maria Olazabal’s wildcard picks.
“Obviously the big goal is to play,” the Belgian said.
“But if I can get myself into the team automatically it would be a big boost. After the way I have been playing for the past year I feel okay playing in that company.
“I know that on any given day I can take on anybody which is why I have done so well in match play events.”
Colsaerts’s round included four birdies in five holes from the 14th, his front nine.
He added: “There is still a long way to go so I should really not be discussing the Ryder Cup.
“But you would have to invent a word to describe how much I want to do it. Out on the course it was going through my head every 10 minutes.”
England’s David Lynn, who also has an outside chance of being picked as a wildcard, shot a one-under 71.
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