Hooper on course for record pay day

Mark Hooper remains on course to pocket the biggest prize of his career after another sub-par round in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

Proving a model of consistency, the 30-year-old PGA Professional from The Rayleigh Club, Essex, posted his third successive round of one-under to go into the final 18 holes sharing 22nd place with, among others, US Open champion Justin Rose.

And should Hooper maintain that position he will earn in the region of £45,000, which is treble the amount he harvested from the whole of last season.

Hooper, however, is not contemplating the potential riches that lie at the end of the West Course rainbow – in football parlance, he is taking it one hole at a time.

“As far as tomorrow is concerned, I’m just going to try and enjoy it,” he said. “I haven’t been thinking about the rewards too much but was hoping to do a little bit better today.

“I know it’s rained but it’s been pretty nice out there and I was hoping to get a little bit higher up the leaderboard. The aim is the same again tomorrow – everything feels good and feel I’m capable of a lower score.”

A lower score than 71 certainly looked possible after Hooper posted two birdies in the first seven holes but three successive bogeys either side of the turn checked his progress.

“I had a great start,” he continued. “I left it close on most of the holes and made a couple of birdies. But I three-putted eight and had a big horseshoe from four feet on nine. Then I had another bogey on 10 and the sequence killed the momentum a little bit.

“But I finished well with another couple of birdies, including one on the 16th. And I didn’t have a disaster at the 17th like I did yesterday, although I didn’t hit a good tee shot again and needed a good up and down to make par.”

It all added up to an enjoyable experience for Hooper who remains the sole survivor from the 10 PGA qualifiers. And it was an experience enhanced by the camaraderie he shared with his two playing partners plus the fact that the worry of making the cut had evaporated on the 18th green the previous evening.

“I was able to enjoy it a bit more because the pressure of making the cut had gone,” he explained. “The guys were great to play with – Anthony (Wall) played brilliantly and it was really enjoyable playing with them.”

Wall, who posted his second round of five-under, had an additional reason to be cheerful after completing a hat-trick of birdies at the 17th.

It was there that the Englishman, a Queens Park Rangers supporter, learned that Bobby Zamora had fired the Rs back to the Premier League courtesy of a last minute goal against Derby County at Wembley.

Wall’s run of birdies, however, were eclipsed by Thomas Bjorn who, recovering from an earlier wobble which saw Shane Lowry displace him in pole position, recorded seven in his final eight holes to go into the final round five strokes clear of the field on 15-under.