BARRY HUME NEEDS A BIRDIE TO BEAT
THE CUT IN THE SINGAPORE OPEN
Former Scottish amateur champion Barry Hume from Glasgow will finish his second round in the Barclays Singapore Open on Saturday morning. He needs one birdie and no bogeys over the six holes he has to play to beat the halfway cut at the Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course.
Hume had a opening round of 78 - seven over par - and he slumped to eight over for the tournament with a bogey at the third in his second round today.
Then he started to play like he used to play - birdie at the sixth, birdie at the 10th, birdie at the 11th. That improved the Scot's position to "only" five over par for the tournament.
The projected cut figure is four-over-par 146 or better. So Hume needs to gain an another shot from somewhere - and quickly.
US Open champion Angel Cabrera fired a sparkling eight-under-par 63 to charge into the second round lead.
The big-hitting Argentine reeled in nine birdies against a lone bogey for a two-day total of eight-under-par 134 and leads by two shots from little-known American Jin Park, who returned a 70.
Title-holder Adam Scott of Australia battled into third place with an impressive 67 in a weather-disrupted second round of the star-studded Asian Tour event.
England’s Ryder Cup star Lee Westwood produced a bogey free 67 to lie in fourth position, four off the lead with Australian Gavin Flint (72) while world number two Phil Mickelson of the United States and Fijian Vijay Singh shot 72 and 70 respectively for joint ninth place on 140 with, amongst others, Korea’s Choi Kyung-ju (72) and Filipino Angelo Que (73).
South African Ernie Els, one of the top draws at the Barclays Singapore Open, endured a frustrating 76 for a 148 total. His hopes are not good of making the cut, expected to be 146 or better. His fate is in the hands of the 37 players who are going out early Saturday morning to complete their second rounds.
A quick fix of his driver saw the long-hitting Cabrera bombard the Serapong course with a birdie blitz. The club head had came off during a relatively quiet first round of 71 on Thursday.
“I really hit it well off the tee and made everything that I needed to make and that was the difference,” said Cabrera. “The shaft went off yesterday but they repaired it and it worked very well today. I stroked the ball very solidly, especially on the back nine. I didn’t hole out from long distances, just from makeable distances.”
Cabrera, eighth in last year’s Barclays Singapore Open, gained some measure of revenge after he outscored Els by a massive 14 shots over two rounds as the South African had beaten him in the World Match Play Championship final at Wentworth earlier this month.
Els, runner-up to Adam Scott last year, was a pale shadow of his normal self as he dropped eight bogeys against three birdies. When he finished early in the afternoon, the “Big Easy” was well out of the reckoning for a weekend appearance but could squeeze in if the resumption of play on Saturday sees the remaining players drop shots.
“It’s not the way I wanted to play obviously. I felt good before the round started. I actually birdied my first hole but after that I just couldn’t get it together. I was battling with my swing a little bit and on the greens as well. All in all, it was quite disappointing. I was hoping for better things but that’s golf you know. I tried on every shot, I can promise you that,” said the world No. 4.
Els reckoned Carbrera could well challenge for supremacy in Serapong and dethrone two-time champion Scott. “He played beautifully. As bad as I played that’s how good he played. He was really on form and just never really missed a shot. With his length, when he hits it dead straight, he’s going to be awfully hard to catch this weekend. He’s playing beautifully,” said Els.
Scott was delighted with his inward 32 courtesy of four birdies. “It was good to pick up a few shots. Obviously, eight under was the target to get to and picking up four on the back nine was good as it put me right in the tournament,” said the Australian.
“He’s (Cabrera) out there leading and it’s always harder to lead than come from behind. Tomorrow is going to be a big day to stay with the leaders. Previously, the third round has always been good to me.”
The talented world number six is slowly renewing his love-affair with the revamped Serapong Course, saying he needed to roll in a few more putts as he chases a record third victory at the Barclays Singapore Open.
“I think I have a good handle for it. The greens are still completely different and a few putts fooled me out there. I still feel comfortable out here. I know the lines off the tee and what I need to do. It’s just a matter of having a good weekend on the greens,” said Scott.
The unheralded Park, playing in his rookie year on the Asian Tour, extended his glorious run against the star names, adding a 70 to his opening 66 to lie two back from Cabrera. Two 20-foot birdie conversions on the seventh and 15th holes against a lone bogey on the ninth maintained his superb run in Asia’s richest national Open.
“I played really well again today. The last two days were really stress-free because I was hitting a lot of fairways. I had 32 putts today which is a lot but I still shot under par, which means I hit a lot of greens. So I’m very pleased with my round,” said Park.
Park safely negotiated the US Qualifying School Stage One last week and is hoping to see the form carry through the weekend. “But playing near the lead in a prestigious tournament like this is really unfamiliar territory for me but I think good golf takes care of all the pressure so I hope to continue the way I’ve been playing,” he said.
In a rare foray into Asia, the left-handed Mickelson said he needs to swing it better to catch the leaders. “I’m only six back with two rounds to go and I think I’ve got some work on the range. I didn’t strike the ball the way I wanted to though I made some good putts coming down the stretch to keep me in it,” said the three-time Major champion.
“He (Angel Cabrera) played a great round today and it’s out there. You can hit five, six or seven under par. Adam Scott played a solid round of four under par and made it look very easy. But I need to strike it well,” said Mickelson.
SECOND-ROUND LEADERS
134 Angel Cabrera (ARG) 71-63
136 Jin Park (USA) 66-70
137 Adam Scott (AUS) 70-67
138 Lee Westwood (ENG) 71-67, Gavin Flint (AUS) 66-72
139 Tetsuji Hiratsuka (JPN) 68-71, Mo Joong-kyung (KOR) 71-68, Anthony Kang (USA) 69-70
140 Angelo Que (PHI) 67-73, Mark Brown (NZL) 71-69, K J Choi (KOR) 68-72, Phil Mickelson (USA) 68-72, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 70-70, Gary Simpson (AUS) 69-71
141 Prom Meesawat (THA) 72-69, S.S.P. Chowrasia (IND) 70-71
142 Charles Howell III (USA) 76-66, Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 71-71, Kane Webber (AUS) 66-76, Guido Van Der Valk (NLD) 71-71, Darren Clarke (NIR) 71-71
143 Mars Pucay (PHI) 70-73, Azuma Yano (JPN) 71-72, Shiv Kapur (IND) 73-70, Richard Moir (AUS) 72-71, Richard Lee (NZL) 69-74, Lu Wei-chih (TPE) 71-72, Boonchu Ruangkit (THA) 72-71
Other score:
148 Ernie Els (SAfr) 72 76.
153 R Bain (Sco) 75 78.
Retired: S Yates (Sco) 73 ret.
Visit http://www.asiantour.com/ for Live Scoring.
THE CUT IN THE SINGAPORE OPEN
Former Scottish amateur champion Barry Hume from Glasgow will finish his second round in the Barclays Singapore Open on Saturday morning. He needs one birdie and no bogeys over the six holes he has to play to beat the halfway cut at the Sentosa Golf Club's Serapong Course.
Hume had a opening round of 78 - seven over par - and he slumped to eight over for the tournament with a bogey at the third in his second round today.
Then he started to play like he used to play - birdie at the sixth, birdie at the 10th, birdie at the 11th. That improved the Scot's position to "only" five over par for the tournament.
The projected cut figure is four-over-par 146 or better. So Hume needs to gain an another shot from somewhere - and quickly.
US Open champion Angel Cabrera fired a sparkling eight-under-par 63 to charge into the second round lead.
The big-hitting Argentine reeled in nine birdies against a lone bogey for a two-day total of eight-under-par 134 and leads by two shots from little-known American Jin Park, who returned a 70.
Title-holder Adam Scott of Australia battled into third place with an impressive 67 in a weather-disrupted second round of the star-studded Asian Tour event.
England’s Ryder Cup star Lee Westwood produced a bogey free 67 to lie in fourth position, four off the lead with Australian Gavin Flint (72) while world number two Phil Mickelson of the United States and Fijian Vijay Singh shot 72 and 70 respectively for joint ninth place on 140 with, amongst others, Korea’s Choi Kyung-ju (72) and Filipino Angelo Que (73).
South African Ernie Els, one of the top draws at the Barclays Singapore Open, endured a frustrating 76 for a 148 total. His hopes are not good of making the cut, expected to be 146 or better. His fate is in the hands of the 37 players who are going out early Saturday morning to complete their second rounds.
A quick fix of his driver saw the long-hitting Cabrera bombard the Serapong course with a birdie blitz. The club head had came off during a relatively quiet first round of 71 on Thursday.
“I really hit it well off the tee and made everything that I needed to make and that was the difference,” said Cabrera. “The shaft went off yesterday but they repaired it and it worked very well today. I stroked the ball very solidly, especially on the back nine. I didn’t hole out from long distances, just from makeable distances.”
Cabrera, eighth in last year’s Barclays Singapore Open, gained some measure of revenge after he outscored Els by a massive 14 shots over two rounds as the South African had beaten him in the World Match Play Championship final at Wentworth earlier this month.
Els, runner-up to Adam Scott last year, was a pale shadow of his normal self as he dropped eight bogeys against three birdies. When he finished early in the afternoon, the “Big Easy” was well out of the reckoning for a weekend appearance but could squeeze in if the resumption of play on Saturday sees the remaining players drop shots.
“It’s not the way I wanted to play obviously. I felt good before the round started. I actually birdied my first hole but after that I just couldn’t get it together. I was battling with my swing a little bit and on the greens as well. All in all, it was quite disappointing. I was hoping for better things but that’s golf you know. I tried on every shot, I can promise you that,” said the world No. 4.
Els reckoned Carbrera could well challenge for supremacy in Serapong and dethrone two-time champion Scott. “He played beautifully. As bad as I played that’s how good he played. He was really on form and just never really missed a shot. With his length, when he hits it dead straight, he’s going to be awfully hard to catch this weekend. He’s playing beautifully,” said Els.
Scott was delighted with his inward 32 courtesy of four birdies. “It was good to pick up a few shots. Obviously, eight under was the target to get to and picking up four on the back nine was good as it put me right in the tournament,” said the Australian.
“He’s (Cabrera) out there leading and it’s always harder to lead than come from behind. Tomorrow is going to be a big day to stay with the leaders. Previously, the third round has always been good to me.”
The talented world number six is slowly renewing his love-affair with the revamped Serapong Course, saying he needed to roll in a few more putts as he chases a record third victory at the Barclays Singapore Open.
“I think I have a good handle for it. The greens are still completely different and a few putts fooled me out there. I still feel comfortable out here. I know the lines off the tee and what I need to do. It’s just a matter of having a good weekend on the greens,” said Scott.
The unheralded Park, playing in his rookie year on the Asian Tour, extended his glorious run against the star names, adding a 70 to his opening 66 to lie two back from Cabrera. Two 20-foot birdie conversions on the seventh and 15th holes against a lone bogey on the ninth maintained his superb run in Asia’s richest national Open.
“I played really well again today. The last two days were really stress-free because I was hitting a lot of fairways. I had 32 putts today which is a lot but I still shot under par, which means I hit a lot of greens. So I’m very pleased with my round,” said Park.
Park safely negotiated the US Qualifying School Stage One last week and is hoping to see the form carry through the weekend. “But playing near the lead in a prestigious tournament like this is really unfamiliar territory for me but I think good golf takes care of all the pressure so I hope to continue the way I’ve been playing,” he said.
In a rare foray into Asia, the left-handed Mickelson said he needs to swing it better to catch the leaders. “I’m only six back with two rounds to go and I think I’ve got some work on the range. I didn’t strike the ball the way I wanted to though I made some good putts coming down the stretch to keep me in it,” said the three-time Major champion.
“He (Angel Cabrera) played a great round today and it’s out there. You can hit five, six or seven under par. Adam Scott played a solid round of four under par and made it look very easy. But I need to strike it well,” said Mickelson.
SECOND-ROUND LEADERS
134 Angel Cabrera (ARG) 71-63
136 Jin Park (USA) 66-70
137 Adam Scott (AUS) 70-67
138 Lee Westwood (ENG) 71-67, Gavin Flint (AUS) 66-72
139 Tetsuji Hiratsuka (JPN) 68-71, Mo Joong-kyung (KOR) 71-68, Anthony Kang (USA) 69-70
140 Angelo Que (PHI) 67-73, Mark Brown (NZL) 71-69, K J Choi (KOR) 68-72, Phil Mickelson (USA) 68-72, Vijay Singh (FIJ) 70-70, Gary Simpson (AUS) 69-71
141 Prom Meesawat (THA) 72-69, S.S.P. Chowrasia (IND) 70-71
142 Charles Howell III (USA) 76-66, Juvic Pagunsan (PHI) 71-71, Kane Webber (AUS) 66-76, Guido Van Der Valk (NLD) 71-71, Darren Clarke (NIR) 71-71
143 Mars Pucay (PHI) 70-73, Azuma Yano (JPN) 71-72, Shiv Kapur (IND) 73-70, Richard Moir (AUS) 72-71, Richard Lee (NZL) 69-74, Lu Wei-chih (TPE) 71-72, Boonchu Ruangkit (THA) 72-71
Other score:
148 Ernie Els (SAfr) 72 76.
153 R Bain (Sco) 75 78.
Retired: S Yates (Sco) 73 ret.
Visit http://www.asiantour.com/ for Live Scoring.
Labels: Pro Men
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, November 02, 2007
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home