ZHANG LIAN-WEI SHARES LEAD
WITH ROBERT-JAN DERKSEN

Shanghai, April 25: Zhang Lian-wei lifted Chinese hopes of a first home winner of the BMW Asian Open after a sensational birdie at the last propelled him into the joint halfway lead with Robert-Jan Derksen on Friday.
The 42-year-old Zhang, the grand master of Chinese golf, holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club to match the Dutchman’s three-under-par 69 and two-day total of five-under-par 139.
Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke also carded a 69 to lie one off the pace while overnight leader Peter O’Malley of Australia scrambled to a 74 for a 141 and was tied with England’s Miles Tunnicliff, who shot a 70.
Asian Tour’s number one Liang Wen-chong and amateur Hu Mu provided more local cheers by tying for sixth place, three off the lead, alongside Chinese Taipei’s Lin Wen-tang, two-time Major winner Retief Goosen, New Zealand’s Mark Brown and England’s Oliver Wilson.
Gusting winds swept across the demanding Tomson course throughout the day, so any sub-70 scores were cherished on day two of the US$2.3 million event sanctioned by Asian Tour, European Tour and China Golf Association.
Zhang, who has five Asian Tour victories but has not won since 2003, was the only player who did not drop a bogey and birdies on the 11th, 12th and 18th holes saw him charge up the leaderboard.
“It was a perfect finish,” beamed Zhang. “After seeing Peter Hedblom’s putt, I learned from the line and I holed my birdie putt from seven meters. Before I teed off, I thought if I could come back in even par, that would be a good target. I knew it was tough and very few players would be able to shoot under par. I’m very happy.”
Zhang was delighted to see three generations of Chinese golfers challenging for glory in the BMW Asian Open, which has yet to produce an Asian winner since it was inaugurated in 2001. Liang carded a second straight 71 while 18-year-old US-based Hu produced a gallant 69. “I’m so glad to see Liang and Hu at two under, especially Hu who is still an amateur. Hopefully, all of us can perform well at the weekend,” said Zhang.
Asked if China, who will host the Olympic Games in August, could deliver a gold, silver and bronze at the BMW Asian Open, Zhang replied: “I’m going to try my best for the gold. If I can pick up a medal on Sunday, I’ll be very happy. I’m going to try to keep my regular routine and hope to perform well. It’s the same course, the same players. Hopefully after the weekend, I will come out as the winner.”
Derksen, who last won an event three years ago when he captured his second title at the Madeira Islands Open, got off to a great start with birdies at the 10th and 11th holes and thereafter picked up another three shots with just two bogeys.
“I was very pleased,” said the Dutchman. “I got off to a good start and it was very difficult conditions but I hung in there so I’m pleased to be leading. It is important to hit fairways and I did that well today. Putting has been good this week and that is a key and if I can continue then I should have a chance on Sunday. There is a long way to go and it is good to be on the right side.”
Clarke, who has lamented poor putting all season, showed improved form on the greens and took 29 putts for a second successive day to stay in the title hunt at the BMW Asian Open. “I haven’t holed the world but 29 putts yesterday and 29 again today which is a lot better than the 32, 33 which I have been averaging this year. I worked with a guy last week on my alignment and it feels a lot better,” said the Ryder Cup star, who is surprisingly making his maiden visit to mainland China.
Liang, who became the first Chinese to win the Asian Tour’s Order of Merit last year, continued to show improved form as he carded four birdies against three bogeys. He said his invitation to the Masters, which he missed the cut two weeks ago, had thrown him off balance but he is now finding his feet again.
“After I received the invite to the Masters, I had a lot of thoughts in my mind on how to prepare for such a big tournament. It got me confused and made me impatient but after the 12th place finish in New Orleans last month and last week’s top-10 in Beijing, I’ve got my confidence back,” said the 29-year-old.
Hu, who trains under renowned swing guru David Leadbetter, continued to show his immense potential by staying in the title chase. He three putted his first hole on the 10th before enjoying a birdie spree with five birdies over his next nine holes.
The teenager said a phone call to Leadbetter on Monday helped in his game. “He simply told me to keep my head still,” said Hu. “This is what I’m looking for, being in the top-10. If I can finish in the top-10 or 20 at the end of the week, it’ll be big. If I keep playing like how I played yesterday, I feel I can compete,” said Hu.
Australian legend Greg Norman carded a 73 to lie in tied 16th place, five shots behind the leaders. The halfway cut was set at three-over-par 147 with 66 players progressing into the weekend rounds.
SECOND ROUND TOTALS
Par 144 (2 x 72)
139 Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 70 69 140 Darren Clarke 71 69
141 Peter O'Malley (Aus) 67 74
142 Retief Goosen (Rsa) 72 70, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 71 71, Wen-Tang Lin (Tai) 71 71, Mark Brown (Nzl) 75 67, Mu Hu (Chn) 73 69
143 Chao Li (Chn) 71 72
144 Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 73 71, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 68 76, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 72 72, Chris Rodgers 71 73, Greg Norman (Aus) 71 73, Paul Broadhurst 71 73, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 70 74, Carl Suneson (Spa) 71 73, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 74 70, Adam Blyth (Aus) 74 70
145 Ross Fisher 72 73, Iain Steel (Mal) 71 74, Shiv Shankar Prasad Chowrasia (Ind) 72 73, Julio Zapata (Arg) 73 72, Ross McGowan 71 74
146 Francesco Molinari (Ita) 71 75, Wei Chih Lu (Tha) 75 71, David Gleeson (Aus) 73 73, Shiv Kapur (Ind) 71 75, Joost Luiten (Ned) 71 75, Phillip Price 73 73, John Bickerton 71 75, Peter Lawrie 72 74, Wook-Soon Kang (Kor) 74 72, Digvijay Singh (Ind) 74 72
147 Gary Murphy 74 73, Marcus Both (Aus) 73 74, Paul Lawrie 75 72, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 74 73, Keith Horne (Rsa) 77 70, Simon Yates 74 73, Sam Little 71 76, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 73 74, Mardan Mamat (Sin) 73 74
148 Rahil Gangjee (Ind) 73 75, Gaurav Ghei (Ind) 74 74, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 74 74, Iain Pyman 75 73, Stephen Scahill (Nzl) 79 69, Prayad Marksaeng (Tha) 74 74, Hao Yuan (Chn) 74 74, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 77 71, Keng-chi Lin (Tai) 73 75, Jyoti Randhawa (Ind) 75 73
149 Juvic Pagunsan (Phi) 74 75, Zane Scotland (Gbr) 75 74, Sung Lee (Kor) 72 77, Zaw Moe (Kor) 72 77, Thomas Bjorn (Den) 74 75, Jason Knutzon (USA) 73 76
150 Anthony Kang (USA) 75 75, Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 75 75, Magnus Carlsson (Swe) 73 77, Sang-moon Bae (Kor) 76 74, Stuart Manley 75 75, Peter Fowler (Aus) 76 74, Danny Chia (Mal) 70 80
151 Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 75 76, Andrew Coltart 71 80, Zhi-Feng Qiu (Tpe) 73 78, Scott Drummond 72 79, Adam Groom (Aus) 75 76
152 Anthony Wall 78 74, Gary Simpson (Aus) 75 77, Peter Whiteford 74 78, Marcel Siem (Ger) 75 77, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 74 78, Anda Liu (Chn) 76 76, Wen Teh Lu (Tpe) 74 78
153 Thammanoon Srirot (Tha) 79 74, Tom Whitehouse 74 79, Unho Park (Aus) 75 78
155 Gui Ming Liao (Chn) 74 81, Gavin Flint (Aus) 78 77, Xiao-ma Chen (Chn) 80 75
156 Sven Struver (Ger) 74 82, Jong Yul Suk (Kor) 76 80, Simon Hurd 78 78
157 Tony Carolan (Aus) 77 80
159 Wei-Huang Wu (Tpe) 78 81, Wen-gen Zheng (Hkg) 81 78
161 Simon Griffiths 78 83, Lei Shang (Tpe) 84 77
164 Yong-hong Deng (Chn) 82 82, Ming-hao Wang (Chn) 79 85
166 Xiong-hui Ye (Chn) 80 86

International website: http://www.bmw-golfsport.com/
Chinese website: http://www.bmw.com.cn/
Also visit http://www.asiantour.com/ for live scoring this week.