EUROPEAN TOUR ON ROAD TO MOROCCO

Rhys Davies' eight-under 64

gives him halfway lead

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Welshman Rhys Davies fired the lowest round of his European Tour career to take the halfway lead at the Trophée Hassan II near Rabat in Morocco today.
The 24 year old, pictured right, who played four years on the US college circuit as a student at East Tennessee State University and was a team-mate of Rory McIlroy at the 2007 Walker Cup, finished third in the Maybank Malaysian Open two weeks ago. Here in Morocco, the Edinburgh-born Davies, son of a Welsh table-tennis international, added an eight under par 64 to his opening 68.
Davies, British boys' champion in 2003 after losing in the 2002 final, goes into the weekend two in front of former Ryder Cup pair Thomas Levet and Ignacio Garrido and also South African Louis Oosthuizen.
This week's tournament is appearing on The European Tour International Schedule for the first time in its long history, and Levet is delighted with the new status of a competition which, having been pro-am for the first two days, now switches to professionals only.
“I came here in 1990 and played these two courses and I love the place,” said the Frenchman. “I’m playing with a sponsor of mine, the head of Lacoste in Morocco and he’s an 18 handicapper and he played very well yesterday. Today he struggled a little especially when he saw his name on the leaderboard but I was very pleased for him.”
First round leader Nick Dougherty, who like Davies switched from the Red course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam to the shorter and easier Blue, scored three shots worse and dropped to joint fifth place on ten under.
"This time last year I didn't really have any status in Europe," said Bridgend player Davies, "but I managed to get a win on the Challenge Tour and everything sort of spiralled from there.
"It's been really good the last 12 months. I am feeling very confident - you play golf to play well and to get to the top of the leaderboard.
"I think if you don't enjoy it at the top you wouldn't really want to do it."
As for his eight-birdie round Davies added: "It went great. I rolled some really good putts in and overall it was a good day's work."
Oosthuizen matched his 64, while Frenchman Levet returned a 65 and Spaniard Garrido a 67.
“I hit some wayward iron shots today but otherwise it was pretty good,” said Oosthuizen. “I putted nicely and basically I am trying to work on my consistency.
“It’s good to see Thomas Aiken up there alongside me. We both grew up with Charl Schwartzel so it is something of an inspiration to us to watch up win twice this year and get to the top of The Race to Dubai. We realise we have to step up to that new level that he has reached and it really is a challenge for all of us younger South Africans.”
Spaniard Garrido won this event in 1996 before going on to capture his maiden European Tour title and winning a Ryder Cup cap a year later.
“On the front nine I played solid,” he said. “A lot of shots went close and that’s where I got my birdies. On the back nine I holed a couple of long putts and took advantage of the par fives so it was okay.”
Dougherty, joined on ten under by Aiken and Joost Luiten of The Netherlands, commented: "I didn't play great. The Blue course is quite a bit easier and I didn't capitalise on it, but three under is not too bad and I'm still in contention.
"I've not put two good rounds together in a long while and I'm proud of my performance."
He had a hat-trick of birdies from the 15th and was four under for the round with seven to go, but played them in one over.
Luiten is returning from a long-standing wrist problem, which was only correctly treated with a visit to a doctor specialising in field hockey injuries.
“I saw so many doctors who were specialists but couldn’t locate the problem,” he said. “Then I came across this doctor who works with the Dutch field hockey team and he knew straight away what it was and said it is a common injury in hockey. He operated on my left wrist and it seems to have worked, but it’s been difficult to come out here and try to play at this level after so long. It’s tougher than I expected.”
SCOTSWATCH: Only three Scots made it through to the last rounds, the cut eliminating all those with totals of 144 (one under par) or worse. Stephen Gallacher is the best placed Scots qualifier in joint 16th place on 138 but a second-round 72 was six shots worse than his sparkling first-day effort. He did birdie the 10th, 12th and 13th. For David Drysdale it was the proverbial game of two halves. He covered the first nine holes in 31 shots with birdies at the first, second, fourth, sixth and seventh but slumped to 39 for the second nine with a bad run of bogey-double bogey-bogey through 10, 11 and 12. He did birdie the 14th and is tied 39th on 141.
For Peter Whiteford from Kirkcaldy it was the rocky Road to Morocco through the first six holes of his 72 for 142 and a share of 47th place. He had a double bogey 6 at the first and a triple bogey 7 at the sixth. Full marks to him, therefore, for being able to get it out in 38, thanks to birdies at the third and fifth. No bogeys at all in an inward 32 with birdies at the 10th, 14th, 16th and 17th.
Aberdonian Richie Ramsay missed the cut by one shot, not so much because of a second-round 69 but all about that opening round of 75. He had five birdies today, at the second, sixth, eighth, 11th and 17th in halves of 34-35. Had he done that yesterday he would have been in contention going into the third round.
Alastair Forsyth missed out with a 71 for 145, Marc Warren with a 70, also for 145 and Gary Orr with a 73 for 147.