HORSEY LEADS BY TWO AFTER FINE FINISH AT TSELEEVO

    

       David Horsey: Poor start, finish in Russia  Picture by courtesy of Getty Images(c)
WHITEFORD SHARING THIRD PLACE, 

FOUR OFF  PACE IN RUSSIAN OPEN
 
EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS
Englishman David Horsey produced a fine finish in the second round of the M2M Russian Open to sit two shots clear at the halfway stage.
The 29 year old, who is chasing his third European Tour title, made a poor start at Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club but recovered well with four birdies in the last six holes for a four under par 68, which took him to 11 under for the tournament.
His lead remained intact all afternoon, only briefly threatened by Belgian’s Thomas Pieters, who was disappointed to bogey the last but nevertheless satisfied with a 68 and a nine under par total.
Scotland's Peter Whiteford (71) and Englishman Gary Boyd (68) are two shots further back on seven under par.

Key Quotes:

 David Horsey
“I got off to a slow start but I managed to bounce back well. I tried to do the same as yesterday and stick to my game and not worry about much else. Dropping a couple of shots early on is always disappointing, but I knew there’d be plenty of chances to come and I just needed to stay patient and keep giving myself putts for birdie. 
"The approach shots are the key here. The fairways are wide so you don’t see guys missing too many. There’s a bit of water, so it’s just about minimising the mistakes and not giving away too many shots when you do make a mistake.
“Then, ultimately, it’s about holing putts, the same as every week. I teed off from the tenth today, so when I reached the turn I knew there’d be plenty of chances on the front nine where there are a few holes downwind.

Thomas Pieters
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement, which is always nice, and I’ve holed a few putts too. I’m very happy with my game. I’ve been working hard on some stuff the last couple of months and it doesn’t happen right away. 
"It takes time, and it’s nice to see the hard work paying off this week with a couple of good rounds. I learned a lot from my experience at the Spanish Open (where he lost in a play-off to Miguel Angel Jiménez). 
"I stayed very calm, which surprised me. I felt comfortable there, which gives me a lot of confidence going into the next two rounds here.
"The course is great and the best thing that suits me is the driving. If you can drive it long and straight off the tee you will do well on this course.”

Gary Boyd
“I played well. I made a slow start and had a bogey on the fourth, but I got it going on the back nine and had four birdies in the last five holes, which is always nice.
"It’s put me in a nice position for the weekend. My game has been good the last two weeks – I played well on the Challenge Tour in Switzerland last week so it was nice to come here with a bit of confidence. 
"The whole season has been pretty poor, but it’s nice to be back playing well. This week is a great opportunity. 
"I haven’t played great on the Challenge Tour this season so it didn’t matter that I’d miss a week, and I’m seeing this as a chance to win and get my European Tour card back. This is where I feel I should be.
"It’s been a tough couple of years with my game but I can feel it slowly coming back. It’s nice to be near the top of the leaderboard and it’s a position I’m familiar with and feel comfortable with.
" I’ve got my game plan ready for the weekend and hopefully it’ll put me in the mix on Sunday afternoon.”

Peter Whiteford
“The start was shocking. The first tee shot was straight in the rubbish, and I was three over after six holes. But it was a good fightback. Strangely, I felt like I was swinging it better today, but there are still some absolutely wild ones in there which cost me today. 
"The good shots are really good, but there are some calamities. Even that shot to the last there – it was an easy nine iron and I just hooked it into the bunker. It makes it exciting though – I don’t really know where to look once I’ve struck it! 
"I’m not playing great so I’m delighted with the way I’m scoring and I’m in with a chance, which is just what I need.”

 SECOND-ROUND TOTALS
Par 142 (2x71)
+66 players made the cut on 144 (+2) 
133 D Horsey (Eng) 65 68.
135 T Pieters  (Bel) 67 68
137 G Boyd  (Eng) 69 68, P Whiteford (Sco) 66 71
138 N Elvira  (Esp) 69 69, M Kieffer (Ger) 67 71, G Bhullar (Ind) 67 71, S Jamieson  (Sco) 66 72, 139 S Hutsby  (Eng) 72 67, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 70 69, K Phelan (Irl) 69 70
140 E Dubois (Fra) 72 68, D McGrane (Irl) 69 71, S Walker (Eng) 69 71, K Eriksson (Swe) 72 68, J Colomo  (Esp) 72 68, M Grönberg (Swe) 70 70, J Doherty  (Sco) 67 73, J McLeary  (Sco) 68 72
141 C Pigem (Esp) 70 71, G Charoenkul (Tha) 73 68, S Hansen (Den) 72 69, C Del Moral (Esp) 70 71, J Wilson (Aus) 67 74, L De Jager  (RSA) 67 74
142 A Saddier (Fra) 69 73, J Hansen  (Den) 69 73, C Lee (Sco) 72 70, D Drysdale (Sco) 73 69, 143 A Andersson  (Swe) 70 73, J Carlsson (Swe) 74 69, B Paolini (USA) 72 71, R Karlberg  (Swe) 67 76, A Pavan (Ita) 73 70, J Heath  (Eng) 71 72, A Maestroni  (Ita) 72 71, J Mikkelsen (Nor) 74 69, S Thornton (Irl) 70 73, R Enoch  (Wal) 70 73, A Otaegui  (Esp) 70 73, O Bekker (RSA) 67 76, A Hartø  (Den) 73 70, H Porteous (RSA) 72 71
144 J Campillo (Esp) 68 76, S Baek (Kor) 74 70, O Henningsson  (Swe) 68 76, B Dredge (Wal) 70 74, M Madsen  (Den) 71 73, R Finch  (Eng) 71 73, M Bremner (RSA) 79 65, J Morrison  (Eng) 71 73, R Kakko  (Fin) 71 73, S Manley (Wal) 71 73
MISSED THE CUT 
145 M Korhonen (Fin) 74 71, P Price (Wal) 70 75, A Forsyth (Sco) 75 70, M Nixon (Eng) 69 76, A Gee  (Eng) 70 75, D Im (USA) 73 72, J Smith (am) (Eng) 75 70
146 J Hahn (USA) 72 74, L Bond (Wal) 73 73, S Chowrasia (Ind) 76 70, P Erofejeff (Fin) 74 72, S Wakefield (Eng) 70 76, D Huizing (Ned) 72 74
147 C Phadungsil  (Tha) 71 76, A Kaleka  (Fra) 74 73, S Kjeldsen (Den) 75 72, P Saksansin (Tha) 75 72
148 J Lara (Esp) 77 71,  149 J Fly (USA) 71 78, J Ahlers (RSA) 74 75
 150 N Dougherty  (Eng) 74 76, L Claverie (Esp) 72 78, H Satama (Fin) 72 78, A Pavlov (Rus) 77 73
151 B Henson (USA) 75 76, V Phillips (Eng) 75 76, J Janewattananond (Tha) 78 73
152 V Osipov (Rus) 77 75, M Dobias  (Sui) 76 76, D Higgins (Irl) 79 73, J Reiss (Eng) 78 74, H Wen-Yi (Chn) 75 77, D Suchan  (Cze) 80 72,
153 M Kawamura (Jpn) 79 74, J Clément  (Sui) 73 80, T Innes Ker (Sco) 78 75, M Suursalu (Est) 74 79
 154 J Roos (RSA) 80 74, P Gal  (Cze) 80 74,
 155 N Nissen (Den) 77 78, D Vancsik (Arg) 80 75, R Gruber (Aut) 75 80
 156 A Vongvanij (Tha) 74 82, P Goryainov (am) (Rus) 76 80
 157 P Dedek (am) (Cze) 84 73
 158 R Steiner (Aut) 75 83
 160 B Palanszki (Hun) 81 79, P Gustafsson (Swe) 82 78, F Becker (Ger) 80 80, M Nichols (Eng) 81 79
 161 A Savolainen  (Fin) 79 82
 162 N Ponomarev (am) (Rus) 77 85
 166 M Morozov (am) (Rus) 89 77
 167 J Ferraby (Eng) 80 87
 168 S Pereltsveyg (am) (Rus) 83 85
 170 E Volkov (am) (Rus) 85 85
 172 Y Kafelnikov (Rus) 83 89, I Tursunov (am) (Rus) 93 79
 178 I Kurochkin (Rus) 85 93
 ** H Sayin (Tur) 81 retired

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS