|
Scotland’s Peter Whiteford edged out overnight co-leader Thorbjorn Olesen with an eagle to take the outright lead after the second round of the Perth International yesterday. |
Whiteford shot a six-under 66 for a two-round total of 12-under 132 to lead the Dane by one shot at the halfway stage of the European Tour co-sanctioned tournament at Lake Karrinyup.
“I was disappointed to not take a few chances today, so that eagle kind of made up for a couple of things today,” Whiteford said. “I played great, I kind of felt like I got what I deserved. It’s not often you say that in golf. You’re always thinking you could’ve done better. But that eagle made me feel a lot better.”
The pressure is on for Whiteford, who needs to finish outright second or win the Perth International to retain his European Tour card for next season. “It’s no holds barred, win or bust,” he said. “It’s not a matter of ‘I would like to win’. I need to, to try to keep my job.”
Starting the day tied for the lead with Australian John Wade, Thorbjorn reeled off four birdies before a bogey at the last left him at three-under 69 for the day and 11-under 133 for the tournament.
“It’s always tough to come back after a great round and shoot another good round,” said Olesen, who started the day at eight-under. “But I felt like I played solid out there. I gave myself a lot of chances for birdie, especially on the front nine.”
Olesen heads into the weekend one of the favourites to take out the Perth title. “I have a lot of expectations on myself. I’ve been in this position a few times in my career so I know how it is,” he added.
South Korean Sihwan Kim was in outright third on 10-under while Scotland’s David Drysdale and England’s James Morrison were a further shot back.
Morrison fired the round of the day with a course record at nine-under 63. “I drive it straight and I’ve got a good short game. So unlike the longer golf courses, this sort of course suits me. I just feel comfortable,” Morrison said.
The second round cut was made at one-under 143 with former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy a big name casualty after posting one over 145.
South African Charl Schwartzel and Frenchman Victor Dubuisson had no such trouble making it through to the weekend. Dubuisson posted a five-under-par 67 to move to six under, while Schwartzel was well placed to pounce at seven under.
Home comfort helps Harman fly high
Brian Harman took advantage of home comforts, ideal weather and a red-hot putter as he charged into a share of the lead in Thursday’s opening round of the $5.6 million McGladrey Classic at Sea Island in Georgia.
The diminutive American left-hander, who won his first PGA Tour title at the John Deere Classic in July, mixed six birdies with a lone bogey on the way to a sparkling five-under-par 65 in the third event of the 2014-15 season. Harman birdied four of his last seven holes on the Seaside Course to end the day level with compatriots Michael Thompson, Will MacKenzie and double heart-transplant recipient Erik Compton.
Pencil-slim American Chesson Hadley, the PGA Tour’s Rookie of the Year for the 2013-14 season, was among a group of eight players who opened with 66s.
Harman, born in nearby Savannah and a resident at Sea Island, rebounded strongly from a bogey on his fifth hole of the day, the par-four 14th, to surge into a four-way tie at the top of the leaderboard.
“I got off to a little bit of a shaky start but finally figured it out and made some good swings, made some putts and felt really good,” the 27-year-old told Golf Channel.
The short five-minute commute from his home to the golf course was another huge bonus for Harman.
“It’s great,” he smiled. “It’s the only tournament of the year I get to sleep in my own bed. I’m fortunate to be lucky enough to live down here and even more fortunate to have a tournament in my back yard.”
Thompson, like Harman, flourished on the ultra-smooth greens at Sea Island. “My putter was hot today,” said the 29-year-old from Arizona whose only PGA Tour victory came at the 2013 Honda Classic.
“I put in some good work the past couple of days on the green, and my speed was awesome today. When that happens, it’s fun to play golf because you’re making putts. I just had a few lucky breaks which kept me in it, because I hit some wayward shots today but it was a good day of golf.”
American world number nine Matt Kuchar, the highest-ranked player in the field, opened with a 67 while tournament host Davis Love III, who has won 20 times on the PGA Tour, carded a 71. Fellow American Chris Kirk, who won last year’s McGladrey Classic by one shot, launched his title defence with a bogey-free 68.
Compton started his day by putting on extra clothes to battle a morning chill but it didn’t take him long to get hot once he teed off. The 34-year-old dual Norwegian-American rolled in birdies on his first two holes en route to a five-under 65.
Compton, a two-time heart transplant recipient, said he cut his pre-round warmup routine short at the Sea Island Resort course—and it appeared to pay off.
“It was nice to get off to a good start. It was a little chilly this morning, so I shortened my warmup and wrapped myself in a bunch of clothes,” said Compton. “The greens are really quick. If you’re playing well, there are some scores out there.”
