MORRISON EDGES AHEAD OF MOLINARI AT WEATHER-HIT SINGAPORE
FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
Surrey-based Englishman James Morrison remained the clubhouse leader on 12 under par following a weather-disrupted second day at the Barclays Singapore Open after carding a 68 to head Edoardo Molinari by one stroke at Sentosa Golf Club.
Morrison collected five birdies and two bogeys over the more difficult Serapong course to edge ahead of fellow overnight joint-leader Molinari.
The Italian was two under for the day through ten holes when play was suspended on account of the light following a delay of almost three hours due to lunchtime thunderstorms.
“I have about 20 to 25 foot for the joint lead,” he said. “It is still early in the tournament. I did not play very well today but putted well and two under after ten holes on that course is a very good score.
“I have had bad experiences from rushing late in the evening from previous tournaments so I thought I would leave it. It is not a three or four foot putt just to hole out, it is 25 feet. If I make it great if not move on.”
The 26 year old Englishman began his second round level with Molinari on nine under at the top of the leaderboard but immediately dropped a stroke at the first.
A birdie at the seventh erased the damage but another bogey at the ninth saw Morrison drop to one over on the day.
However, Morrison fought back on the homeward nine, picking up birdies at the 11th, 13th and 14th before the weather intervened.
On the resumption of play, he was able to par the next three holes before an excellent approach to two feet on the par five last brought another birdie and saw him move to 12 under par at the halfway mark.
"This golf course is definitely harder and it can be tough coming from an easier course onto a tougher layout," he said.
"There are some very demanding tee shots out there and it is just a proper golf course, quite demanding in many ways. I didn't play as well today as I did yesterday but I managed to get it round and I am pretty happy with that, especially with a four-under back nine to finish strongly."
Molinari, meanwhile, had birdies at the fifth, seventh and tenth but a bogey at the par three eighth when he missed the green saw him end the day 11 under.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño was tied for third on ten under par after the Spaniard blitzed the front nine of the Tanjong course with an eagle and four birdies before a bogey at the eighth set him back. He will return on Saturday morning to complete his inward nine.
Fernandez-Castaño joined Juvic Pagunsan after the Filipino returned an impressive 66 on the Serapong course that featured six birdies and a bogey.
Michael Hoey backed up his opening 67 with a 66 to climb to nine under par.
Four birdies and a double-bogey six at the seventh saw the Northern Irishman go out in 34 but he picked up three more shots coming back before a fine par save on the last after finding the trees on the right from the tee completed a satisfying day's work.
"I didn't hit the ball great in the long game department today but the short game has been really good," he said.
"But I will definitely need to straighten things up off the tee, especially on the Serapong course because it is very tough. I shot four under there yesterday but hit it in the water twice and didn't hit enough fairways."
Hoey joined Anders Hansen, who sank seven birdies in a 64, and Y E Yang in a tie for fifth although the South Korean still has six holes to play.
Justin Rose also lifted himself into contention on eight under following a round of 65.
Following an underwhelming start with a bogey at the first, Rose quickly found his rhythm as a birdie at the third was followed by four in a row from the sixth - a solid birdie putt on the ninth reflecting the Englishman's confidence.
A birdie putt at the 11th just grazed the edge of the hole and he failed to capitalise on an opportunity at the 13th but collected his sixth birdie of the day on the next thanks to another fine approach. Another at the last capped an excellent effort.
"Yeah, good day," Rose said.
"Started with a bogey, I hadn't played the front nine in practice but my caddie walked it and did a good job of mapping it out. It was a lot tighter than I gave it credit for.
"If you drive the ball well then you can play this golf course but if you don't you are going to struggle to make birdies. I bogeyed the first and then seven under from there I was very happy with.
"Two rounds on that other golf course will suit me the way I am playing right now. I feel I am beginning to hit some good putts. I am beginning to scare the hole quite often so it's feeling good."
The projected halfway cut is 139 and better to qualify; 140 and worse to miss it.
Which means that
141 Steven O'Hara 72 69.
149 Paul Lawrie 76 73.
151 James Byrne 70 81
the three Scots who have completed 36 holes will all miss the weekend action.
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
CLICK HERE
Surrey-based Englishman James Morrison remained the clubhouse leader on 12 under par following a weather-disrupted second day at the Barclays Singapore Open after carding a 68 to head Edoardo Molinari by one stroke at Sentosa Golf Club.
Morrison collected five birdies and two bogeys over the more difficult Serapong course to edge ahead of fellow overnight joint-leader Molinari.
The Italian was two under for the day through ten holes when play was suspended on account of the light following a delay of almost three hours due to lunchtime thunderstorms.
“I have about 20 to 25 foot for the joint lead,” he said. “It is still early in the tournament. I did not play very well today but putted well and two under after ten holes on that course is a very good score.
“I have had bad experiences from rushing late in the evening from previous tournaments so I thought I would leave it. It is not a three or four foot putt just to hole out, it is 25 feet. If I make it great if not move on.”
The 26 year old Englishman began his second round level with Molinari on nine under at the top of the leaderboard but immediately dropped a stroke at the first.
A birdie at the seventh erased the damage but another bogey at the ninth saw Morrison drop to one over on the day.
However, Morrison fought back on the homeward nine, picking up birdies at the 11th, 13th and 14th before the weather intervened.
On the resumption of play, he was able to par the next three holes before an excellent approach to two feet on the par five last brought another birdie and saw him move to 12 under par at the halfway mark.
"This golf course is definitely harder and it can be tough coming from an easier course onto a tougher layout," he said.
"There are some very demanding tee shots out there and it is just a proper golf course, quite demanding in many ways. I didn't play as well today as I did yesterday but I managed to get it round and I am pretty happy with that, especially with a four-under back nine to finish strongly."
Molinari, meanwhile, had birdies at the fifth, seventh and tenth but a bogey at the par three eighth when he missed the green saw him end the day 11 under.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño was tied for third on ten under par after the Spaniard blitzed the front nine of the Tanjong course with an eagle and four birdies before a bogey at the eighth set him back. He will return on Saturday morning to complete his inward nine.
Fernandez-Castaño joined Juvic Pagunsan after the Filipino returned an impressive 66 on the Serapong course that featured six birdies and a bogey.
Michael Hoey backed up his opening 67 with a 66 to climb to nine under par.
Four birdies and a double-bogey six at the seventh saw the Northern Irishman go out in 34 but he picked up three more shots coming back before a fine par save on the last after finding the trees on the right from the tee completed a satisfying day's work.
"I didn't hit the ball great in the long game department today but the short game has been really good," he said.
"But I will definitely need to straighten things up off the tee, especially on the Serapong course because it is very tough. I shot four under there yesterday but hit it in the water twice and didn't hit enough fairways."
Hoey joined Anders Hansen, who sank seven birdies in a 64, and Y E Yang in a tie for fifth although the South Korean still has six holes to play.
Justin Rose also lifted himself into contention on eight under following a round of 65.
Following an underwhelming start with a bogey at the first, Rose quickly found his rhythm as a birdie at the third was followed by four in a row from the sixth - a solid birdie putt on the ninth reflecting the Englishman's confidence.
A birdie putt at the 11th just grazed the edge of the hole and he failed to capitalise on an opportunity at the 13th but collected his sixth birdie of the day on the next thanks to another fine approach. Another at the last capped an excellent effort.
"Yeah, good day," Rose said.
"Started with a bogey, I hadn't played the front nine in practice but my caddie walked it and did a good job of mapping it out. It was a lot tighter than I gave it credit for.
"If you drive the ball well then you can play this golf course but if you don't you are going to struggle to make birdies. I bogeyed the first and then seven under from there I was very happy with.
"Two rounds on that other golf course will suit me the way I am playing right now. I feel I am beginning to hit some good putts. I am beginning to scare the hole quite often so it's feeling good."
The projected halfway cut is 139 and better to qualify; 140 and worse to miss it.
Which means that
141 Steven O'Hara 72 69.
149 Paul Lawrie 76 73.
151 James Byrne 70 81
the three Scots who have completed 36 holes will all miss the weekend action.
TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
CLICK HERE
Labels: ASIAN TOUR
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, November 11, 2011
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