Henry and Schneider co-leaders

Scotland’s Scott Henry fired 62, 9 under par to lead with one stroke advantage over France’s Xavier Poncelet. At -12, fellow Romain Schneider is co-leader and will play in last group for the first time of the season. IMAGE GALLERY

The day in Saint Saens was very warm today. The rain had gone and good scores were expected. Overnight leader Rémi Dupuis can not avoid to be nervous on course and missed few birdies opportunity. He signed for a shy 70 for -9 total at 6^th place tie with England’s Ricki Neil-Jones. France’s Julien Foret and England’s Farren Keenan will be serious challengers to victory. Frenchman was in same position last year and couldn’t make it face to Italian Delpodio. This year, he doesn’t seem to keep this in mind.

“I do think about what happened last year. I am playing much more better even if the results on the season do not prove it. I made some mistakes on strategy but I have been playing very well for months and this feeling is great before to fight for first stage of Q School.”

Xavier Poncelet is second with -11 total and has his very own vision of the situation : “Whatever happen tomorrow it will be a good thing. Obviously if I loose, it will be frustrating but as far as experience is concerned, I will be stronger tomorrow night. I have been working for 3 years now on Alps Tour to prepare the bigger circuit. I have this target in mind and tomorrow is a playing day as another one.”

At the opposite, Romain Schneider had a global view of the season and analysed the way he improved his game for the past months. “I recently changed the way I deal with pressure on course. I know I need to stay calm but it used to be tough to keep cool. I have been working on specific ways and tools to get out of the course between shots and to refocus the right moment. Tomorrow will be a great group with Scott and Xavier.”

Great for sure. Scott Henry shot his best round ever and had a big smile “stuck” on his face at the recording. He had a 4^th place 2 weeks ago in Austria and this confidence could be a real weapon against his opponents add to his experience of winning. Scott hold a trophy in May in Austria and would like to confirm his 5^th place at the Alps Tour ranking.

“I could have shot 60, the greens are good so when you are in a good day… In 2 days, the difference is huge. On the second round after nine holes I was struggling to make the cut then on the last 27 holes I scored -14 ! I knew I was playing good so it is nice to confirm on the card. Obviously, I want to stay in the final top 5. I am really happy not to play the first stage of European qualifying school. I will do my best for the last 4 tournaments.”

From Saint-Saens
Agathe Séron