CARSON BEATS THE RAIN TO OPEN THREE-SHOT LEAD
 Adam
Carson from Bristol battled through consistent rain on Merseyside
to fire a second round 70 and lead the English Boys Under
16 Championship at the halfway stage.
His 36-hole aggregate of 143 leaves him three strokes clear
of the field and looking forward to seeing how he will fare
as a front-runner tomorrow.
“I’ve never been in this situation before,”
he said. “I’m very happy to be out in front and
we’ll just have to see how it pans out. I just hope
it is a better day weather-wise and I’m looking forward
to it.”
Calmer conditions at Southport & Ainsdale until mid-afternoon
brought improved scoring but when the rain returned so did
the higher totals until Carson came on the scene.
The tall 15 year old from the Long Ashton club made an early
mark with five birdies in a front nine of 33.
With his father Cameron keeping a watchful eye, Carson played
sensible golf in the wet and avoided serious trouble in a
homeward 37.
“I just kept the ball in play because I knew the weather
would be bad,” he added. “We had 12 holes in the
rain and to make matters worse the wind picked up. But I knew
if I kept it steady I’d be O.K.”
He will certainly hope for better fortune than a year ago
in the under 14 championship at Gosforth when a deluge flooded
the course and forced the final round to be cancelled.
It left Carson high if not dry in second place, unable to
make a bid for his first national title. Such a situation
is unlikely to occur this time and with a second chance in
his grasp it will be interesting to see how matters pan out.
His nearest challengers on 146, Max Smith from Berkshire
with 74, Tom Lewis (pictured - photo courtesy of Tom Ward)
from Hertfordshire and Ireland’s Reeve Whitson, both
with 72, are all capable to making a serious challenge over
the final 36 holes tomorrow.
James Foster from Waterlooville and Spain’s Hugo Menendez,
who shared the overnight lead, both slipped back with 77s
to lie equal fifth on 147.
The best return of the day was a 69 by Suffolk’s Chris
Gooding, 15, a three-handicapper from Ipswich. He improved
by 13 strokes on his opening round thanks in most part to
an eagle and two birdies.
The halfway cut came at 154 with 48 players surviving for
tomorrow’s final two rounds.
In the race for the Nations Cup, decided over the opening
two rounds, Spain came out on top with 293, two ahead of England
I with England II third on 298.
Despite 72s from Tom Lewis and Chris Lloyd for England I
and Tom Berry’s 71 and 73 from Jonathan Bell for England
II, the Spanish took the title from England with Emelio Cuartero
shooting a fine 71.
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