A boys own story ended in glorious failure yesterday as Europe's newest young pro Justin Rose served up a Dutch treat that fell short of triumph by a single agonising stroke.
For his second round as a professional, 17-year-old Rose staggered the Dutch Open gallery and had them baying for birdies as he surged to a remarkable six-under-par 65.
It was remarkable because it followed a horrendous first round 77 when the young Englishman found that playing for money was a different ball-game to playing as an amateur.
Rose birdied the last two holes but it just wasn't to be after he spent the afternoon anxiously scanning the scoreboard to see if level-par would make it. When the last two groups came in - it was as close as that - Rose had to admit defeat. But he took it on the chin.
"I wanted to follow up my first round 77 with a good round, not just in terms of the score but to play well, because I hit too many bad shots on the first day.
"If I'd made the cut I'd have been totally delighted but now I can go home and have a couple of days rest, which might be the best thing that could have happened in the long-run.
"I guess I'm proud of myself for the 65. I think it's one of my strengths that I can fight back. Possibly adversity brings out the best in me. I think I've learned that the first round is the most important in pro golf. If you don't go out and shoot a good score you've virtually no chance of winning. I've always been a slow starter and that's something I need to improve on now in my professional career."
Another Englishman, Nottinghamshire's burly but brilliant current European number one Lee Westwood, holds sway for the second day in succession after a 66 as he searches for a fourth win in six events.
"I never really have a feeling of butterflies in the stomach. There's not a lot that makes me nervous. I tend to get nervous when I'm watching other people I want to win. At the end of last season I watched Nottingham Forest against Reading and it was 0-0 with a few minutes to go and I was pretty nervous then," said Westwood afterwards. "I like to have things in my own hands because at the end of the day I've no-one to answer to."
But the man who equalled the course record 63 in the first round has now been joined by Stephen Leaney, the Moroccan Open champion, who also fired a 63 yesterday. They are four strokes ahead of triple-major champion Nick Price and five in front of England's Jonathan Lomas.
Philip Walton is best of the Irish after a splendid 67. He moves to seven-under-par for a share of fifth place after totting up four birdies by the 12th. Walton is suffering with a hip injury which was caused w hen he tried to take the weight off a stiff neck. Walton explained: "I think I've put a strain on my left hip trying to take the pressure off my neck. It definitely affected me in the end because I couldn't get through the ball properly. I just had to hang in there."
Hang in there he did after four birdies, only a frustrating three-putt on the last for par spoiling his day. He eyes a big cheque tomorrow to put pressure on Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley for the two vacant Dunhill Cup places.
"I've got my eye on Padraig and Paul and I know they're keeping an eye on my progress. In fact, even their caddies are watching me," added the Malahide professional.
Harrington didn't help his cause by slipping to a 72 which only just made the cut on one-under. McGinley, though, rallied superbly after dropping a flurry of shots in the middle of his round to finish with a 71 for a five-under-par total. Clarke is also five-under, rueing at least half a dozen putts which failed to drop for birdies as he totted up 31 shots on the greens.
Like Rose, two Irishmen caught the early plane home. Des Smyth improved with a 70 but missed the cut by four on three-over while Raymond Burns shot a 76 for a 151 total.
