Friday the 13th struck an unlucky note for Salisbury golfer Andy Beal as he battled to beat the cut in the St Omer Open yesterday.
A double bogey six at the 13th hole left Beal with a disappointing second round of 73 and an anxious wait to see whether he'd beaten the cut.
The man who lost the sight in his left eye last year when doctors discovered a cancerous melanoma, stumbled after another tremendous start.
Three early first round birdies had pushed Beal high up the leaderboard on the first day and, when he started out at one under early yesterday morning, he was soon rubbing shoulders with the top men after birdieing the fourth and sixth.
But Beal, a big Saints fan, was counting the wrong numbers at the par five seventh where a double bogey seven released demons of doubt which refused to go away.
Another double bogey at the 13th was followed by dropped shots at the 14th and 15th. At three over he and Brokenhurst Manor hopeful Martin LeMsurier were down in the 90s.
But, as the rain tumbled down, the scoring went up and, with the top 70 and ties to make the cut, three over was looking marginal.
LeMsurier gave himself an outside chance of staying in the tournament with a birdie at the ninth, the last hole of probably his poorest round of golf this year.
He began at one over and three bogies at the 14th, 18th and fourth holes left him stranded. It was a far cry from his three last tournaments on the Challenge Tour in which he finished first, second and fourth.
Peter Dawson, playing on his third event on the European Seniors Tour after undergoing an operation for prostrate cancer, carded a respectable level par 72 in the first round of the Jersey Open at La Moye.
But it could have been better. At one stage the former Ryder Cup left-hander from Whitely near Fareham got to two under and into a tie for tenth place. He stayed that way until he double bogeyed the ninth, his last hole.
Two-handicap outsider Alistair Wright was an early leader in the Hampshire Championships at Shanklin & Sandown with a 68 - one ahead of local boys Wes Moore and Richard Janes and the Stoneham player Jamie Pincheon.
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