Danes Kjeldsen, Olesen lead after World Cup four-balls
Knox and Stewart combine for a 65 but
Scotland still trail in T23 position
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen combined for a sensational 60 to fire Denmark to the top of the leaderboard on day two of the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf at Melbourne.
Just six teams fired under par in the first-round foursomes and despite increased winds at Kingston Heath Golf Club, all 28 teams managed that feat in the four-balls.
Scotland's Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart's better-ball, seven-under-par 65 was one of the best scores of the day but they have a a lot of ground to make up after their 78 in the opening foursomes and are tied 23rd on one-under-par 143.
The Danes turned a three-shot first round deficit into a three-shot second round lead, thanks to two eagles and eight birdies in a brilliant bogey-free effort.
That moved them to 12-under par 132 as they went in search of a maiden World Cup title, with second-placed China (135) also looking to lift the trophy for the first time.
Wu Ashun and Li Haotong have both won on the European Tour this season, and the duo are in a strong position to finish their campaigns in fine style after a second round 65.
Overnight leaders Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jon Rahm of Spain are in third place on eight-under 136.
Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan of England, Italian pair Francesco Molinari and Matteo Manassero, Frenchmen Victor Dubuisson and Romain Langasque, and Americans Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker are sharing fourth place on 147.
Key quotes
Thorbjørn Olesen: “To be honest, I was thinking a little bit about that 59 with the last two holes to go, but 60 was still a great score. Søren got it going by holing his second shot on the third, and then I chipped in for eagle also. So combined, we were very good.
“I felt like yesterday we did a great job in the foursomes. It’s a tricky course, especially when it blows this much. We did well yesterday and that’s what we have to do again tomorrow.”
Soren Kjeldsen: “I was just trying to play solid. Thorbjørn was playing exceptional so I thought if I get it in play and get it on the green, I could let him do all the fireworks and it worked pretty well.
“In terms of temperament, I don’t think we’re that different. But I think game-wise we’re very different. Thorbjørn’s very flashy, he hits it very far from the tee and overall has got an amazing game; whereas I’m more like a train, I arrive on time but without too much of the flashy stuff.”
Li Haotong: “When I started playing golf, I didn’t think I could get into the World Cup one day, so it’s kind of like a dream come true. So it’s very, very proud for me to be here. Everybody back home in China will be very focused on the World Cup this week, so it’s great we are playing so well.”
Wu Ashun: “We are very good friends because I know him very well, and we practice in the same golf course. So we know each other very well, and we played the Olympics together so I think we are the best partners for one another.”
Rafa Cabrera Bello: “I think today’s round wasn’t a great one, but it wasn’t a bad one either. It’s been decent for a day, but it wasn’t our best day. I felt that maybe we were a bit unlucky with the fact that we both played great on the same holes, and played bad on the same holes as well. So it was almost like we were just playing the one ball.”
SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Round 1 foursomes; Round 2 four-balls
par 144 (2x72)
132 Denmark (Søren KJELDSEN/Thorbjørn OLESEN) 72-60
135 China (WU Ashun/LI Haotong 70-65
136 Spain (Rafa CABRERA BELLO/Jon RAHM 69-67
137 France (Victor DUBUISSON/Romain LANGASQUE) 70-67; USA (Rickie FOWLER/Jimmy WALKER) 70-67; Italy (Francesco MOLINARI/Matteo MANASSERO 71-66; England (Chris WOOD/Andy SULLIVAN) 71-66
138 Sweden (Alex NOREN/David LINGMERTH) 72-66; Japan (Hideki MATSUYAMA/Ryo ISHIKAWA) 73-65.
139 Chinese Taipei (C.T. Pan/CHAN Shih-chang) 74-65; Thailand (Thongchai JAIDEE/Kiradech APHIBARNRAT) 73 66; New Zealand (Danny Lee and Ryan Fox) 75 64; Netherlands (Joost Luiten and Darius Van Driel) 75 64
140 India (S.S.P CHAWRASIA/CHIKKARANGAPPA S) 74-66; Wales (Bradley Dredge and Stuart Manley) 74 66; Ireland (Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell) 72 69; Austria (Bernd Wiesberger and Martin Wiegele) 73 68.
142 Venezuela (Jhonattan Vegas and Julio Vegas) 74 68; Portugal (Ricard Gouveia and Jose-Filipe Lima) 74 68; South Africa (Jaco Van Zyl and George Coetzee) 76 66; Belgium (Thomas Pieters and Nicolas Colsaerts) 73 69; Australia (Adam Scott and Marc Leishman) 74 68;
143 South Korea (Byeong Hun An and K T Kim) 74 69; Scotland (Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart) 78 65; Canada (David Hearn and Adam Hadwin) 75 68 (T23).
144 Philippines (Miguel Tabuena and Angelo Que) 77 67.
145 Germany (Alex CEJKA / Stephan JAEGER) 74 71; Malaysia (Danny Chia and Nicholas Fung) 77 68.
Scotland still trail in T23 position
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Søren Kjeldsen and Thorbjørn Olesen combined for a sensational 60 to fire Denmark to the top of the leaderboard on day two of the ISPS HANDA World Cup of Golf at Melbourne.
Just six teams fired under par in the first-round foursomes and despite increased winds at Kingston Heath Golf Club, all 28 teams managed that feat in the four-balls.
Scotland's Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart's better-ball, seven-under-par 65 was one of the best scores of the day but they have a a lot of ground to make up after their 78 in the opening foursomes and are tied 23rd on one-under-par 143.
The Danes turned a three-shot first round deficit into a three-shot second round lead, thanks to two eagles and eight birdies in a brilliant bogey-free effort.
That moved them to 12-under par 132 as they went in search of a maiden World Cup title, with second-placed China (135) also looking to lift the trophy for the first time.
Wu Ashun and Li Haotong have both won on the European Tour this season, and the duo are in a strong position to finish their campaigns in fine style after a second round 65.
Overnight leaders Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jon Rahm of Spain are in third place on eight-under 136.
Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan of England, Italian pair Francesco Molinari and Matteo Manassero, Frenchmen Victor Dubuisson and Romain Langasque, and Americans Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker are sharing fourth place on 147.
Key quotes
Thorbjørn Olesen: “To be honest, I was thinking a little bit about that 59 with the last two holes to go, but 60 was still a great score. Søren got it going by holing his second shot on the third, and then I chipped in for eagle also. So combined, we were very good.
“I felt like yesterday we did a great job in the foursomes. It’s a tricky course, especially when it blows this much. We did well yesterday and that’s what we have to do again tomorrow.”
Soren Kjeldsen: “I was just trying to play solid. Thorbjørn was playing exceptional so I thought if I get it in play and get it on the green, I could let him do all the fireworks and it worked pretty well.
“In terms of temperament, I don’t think we’re that different. But I think game-wise we’re very different. Thorbjørn’s very flashy, he hits it very far from the tee and overall has got an amazing game; whereas I’m more like a train, I arrive on time but without too much of the flashy stuff.”
Li Haotong: “When I started playing golf, I didn’t think I could get into the World Cup one day, so it’s kind of like a dream come true. So it’s very, very proud for me to be here. Everybody back home in China will be very focused on the World Cup this week, so it’s great we are playing so well.”
Wu Ashun: “We are very good friends because I know him very well, and we practice in the same golf course. So we know each other very well, and we played the Olympics together so I think we are the best partners for one another.”
Rafa Cabrera Bello: “I think today’s round wasn’t a great one, but it wasn’t a bad one either. It’s been decent for a day, but it wasn’t our best day. I felt that maybe we were a bit unlucky with the fact that we both played great on the same holes, and played bad on the same holes as well. So it was almost like we were just playing the one ball.”
SECOND-ROUND SCOREBOARD
Round 1 foursomes; Round 2 four-balls
par 144 (2x72)
132 Denmark (Søren KJELDSEN/Thorbjørn OLESEN) 72-60
135 China (WU Ashun/LI Haotong 70-65
136 Spain (Rafa CABRERA BELLO/Jon RAHM 69-67
137 France (Victor DUBUISSON/Romain LANGASQUE) 70-67; USA (Rickie FOWLER/Jimmy WALKER) 70-67; Italy (Francesco MOLINARI/Matteo MANASSERO 71-66; England (Chris WOOD/Andy SULLIVAN) 71-66
138 Sweden (Alex NOREN/David LINGMERTH) 72-66; Japan (Hideki MATSUYAMA/Ryo ISHIKAWA) 73-65.
139 Chinese Taipei (C.T. Pan/CHAN Shih-chang) 74-65; Thailand (Thongchai JAIDEE/Kiradech APHIBARNRAT) 73 66; New Zealand (Danny Lee and Ryan Fox) 75 64; Netherlands (Joost Luiten and Darius Van Driel) 75 64
140 India (S.S.P CHAWRASIA/CHIKKARANGAPPA S) 74-66; Wales (Bradley Dredge and Stuart Manley) 74 66; Ireland (Shane Lowry and Graeme McDowell) 72 69; Austria (Bernd Wiesberger and Martin Wiegele) 73 68.
142 Venezuela (Jhonattan Vegas and Julio Vegas) 74 68; Portugal (Ricard Gouveia and Jose-Filipe Lima) 74 68; South Africa (Jaco Van Zyl and George Coetzee) 76 66; Belgium (Thomas Pieters and Nicolas Colsaerts) 73 69; Australia (Adam Scott and Marc Leishman) 74 68;
143 South Korea (Byeong Hun An and K T Kim) 74 69; Scotland (Russell Knox and Duncan Stewart) 78 65; Canada (David Hearn and Adam Hadwin) 75 68 (T23).
144 Philippines (Miguel Tabuena and Angelo Que) 77 67.
145 Germany (Alex CEJKA / Stephan JAEGER) 74 71; Malaysia (Danny Chia and Nicholas Fung) 77 68.
Labels: WORLD CUP
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Friday, November 25, 2016
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