Warren is spurred on by taste for the suite life

golf correspondent

at gleneagles

nick.rodger@heraldandtimes.co.uk

It may have been cut-price Friday at the Johnnie Walker Championship, but there has been nothing cheap and cheerful about Marc Warren’s stay in Perthshire this week. While it only cost the paying punters a fiver to gain entry to the PGA Centenary course for round two of the £1.4m tournament yesterday, Warren has been immersing himself in the opulence of the Gleneagles Hotel for the past couple of nights.

A taste of the good life has certainly done the Glasgow golfer no harm. Despite an early double-bogey six on the fifth, where a wayward drive forced him to take a penalty drop, the 2007 champion hit back with a bag of five birdies in a three-under-par 69 for a five-under total of 139.

That left him tied ninth, three shots behind the halfway leader, Spain’s Ignacio Garrido, who also shot 69 for a 136 total to hold and a one-stroke advantage over Thomas Bjorn, Lorenzo Gagli, Mark Foster, Kenny Ferrie and Peter Lawrie.

With a sumptuous suite to kick back in and a 24-hour room-service menu that probably includes such lavish delights as swan and unicorn pasties, Warren is enjoying the luxury that he became accustomed to as a leading light of the European Tour.

Since his Gleneagles glory four years ago, his second success on the main circuit, the 30-year-old Glasgwegian has gone off the boil. Having lost full playing rights last season, the former World Cup winner now finds himself juggling action on the European and Challenge Tours as he strives to clamber back up the order.

A pair of 20th place finishes, in the Joburg Open and the Dubai Desert Classic earlier in the year, have been the highlights so far, but he languishes down in 169th spot on the money list and is in desperate need of a big result. A return to the comforts of his happy hunting ground this week could provide the spark that ignites the campaign.

“I was named an ambassador for this tournament recently and, as a past winner, I get a nice suite here, which is pretty cool,” said Warren, who was in a share of eighth place at last year’s event with a round to play, only to crumble to a closing 84. “It’s little touches like this that makes it a very special week. You feel wanted, I suppose.

“You get totally spoiled out here [on the European Tour]. There are courtesy cars when you need them, things like that. I don’t think I’ve played a Challenge Tour event where the range is long enough for you to hit a driver. It’s not a hardship but it’s a different way of life. You get a text on a Sunday night with the prize money on the Challenge Tour and it’s not enough to cover your costs. All of this makes you desperate to get back on the main tour. I’m now in a good position for a good finish.”

James Byrne, Warren’s fellow Scot, also enjoyed a productive round on a sodden day that meant the PGA Centenary course was playing every bit of its 7316 yards. The 22-year-old Banchory amateur, playing in his first European Tour event, finished seven holes of his delayed first round in the morning and signed for a 70 before heading out again and adding a 71 for three-under-par 141. Alastair Forsyth and Richie Ramsay joined Byrne on the three-under mark while Stephen Gallacher, aided by a pink-gripped putter borrowed from his 10-year-old son Jack, carved out four-under 68, which was bolstered by three birdies in a row from his seventh, to move up on to the two-under 142 mark.

“Jack is becoming increasingly influential on my golf,” said Gallacher, who has recovered well from an opening 74 that included a crippling eight on the eighth. “It’s a brand new putter, just a normal length, and I tried it in the garage one night and I was rolling it nicely. I took it on to the course and it still felt good so I kept it. It’s hard lines for the wee man but he can putt with anything.”

A slimline Colin Montgomerie, who has shed 20 pounds by “eating less”, squeezed into the closing 36 holes with a 73 for one-under 143. Chris Doak, the Scottish PGA champion, also made the weekend after a 72 while Helensburgh’s Gary Orr made only his fourth cut of the season after shooting the same score.

The Scots trio finished a shot ahead of the defending champion Edoardo Molinari, who survived on the 144 limit, but Englishman Nick Dougherty’s wretched run of missed cuts was extended to 21 as he exited on 145 despite a battling 69. Jose Maria Olazabal, the 2012 European Ryder Cup captain, also departed on 148 after a 74 that included a two-stroke penalty for hitting the wrong ball on the second.