Ashley Chesters battling Sergio Garcia for Valderrama Masters title
Shropshire golfer Ashley Chesters will play alongside Ryder Cup hero Sergio Garcia as the two battle for glory on the final day of the rain-affected Valderrama Masters.
Defending champion Garcia hit three birdies in his first 11 holes to move to the top of the leaderboard at the end of the second round.
Garcia and Chesters were tied for first place after the first round on five under par, before Garcia hit a birdie at the 11th to overtake the Hawkstone Park ace.
The Spaniard carded a seven under par round of 64 – his lowest score at Valderrama – while Chesters only managed one birdie and sits second on six under par.
Marc Warren joins Alvaro Quiros, Gregory Bourdy and Gonzalo Fdez-Castano in joint third on four under par.
The tournament has been cut down to three rounds because of the weather.
Chesters said: “There’s only one round to go and I’m not too far off the lead.
"I’ve got a bit of making up to do, so I don’t know if going to 54 holes makes much difference.
“There’s always a chance. There’s not a lot of pressure on me. I’ve had a decent year, I’ve got my card sorted, and I’ve got the last few events to aim to get in to if I can have a good week here.
"I’ve not really got a lot to lose so I can have a go tomorrow and see what happens.
“I’ll be playing with Sergio, who was always one of my favourite players when I was growing up. I would imagine there will be quite a lot of Spanish people hoping he will win, so I would imagine it will be a bit different on Sunday.”
