2007 BMW Asian Open - Round 2: Jacquelin opens up three shot lead

Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin surged into a comfortable three-shot lead at the halfway stage of the BMW Asian Open on Friday with Korea's Lee Sung leading the chasing pack.

The overnight leader added a three-under-par 69 to his opening round's 66 for a two-day total of nine-under-par 135 at Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club while Lee, who was born deaf, continued to impress with a 70 for lone second place.

Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez, the winner in 2004, renewed his love-affair with the BMW Asian Open when he charged into contention with a bogey-free 69 to lie five off the lead alongside Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, Australian Scott Hend, Sweden's Joakim Backstrom and Soren Kjeldsen of Denmark.

South Africa's world number five Ernie Els, the tournament's drawcard, carded a second straight 71 for a two-day score of 142. The Big Easy knows he has plenty of catching up to do in his attempt to wrest the BMW Asian Open title which he won by a record 13 strokes two years ago.

The story so far is Jacquelin and the Frenchman hopes Lady Luck will remain by his side as he searches for a second career title. He has enjoyed a good break with his tee times by having the better half of the weather in Shanghai. "We were lucky this afternoon and the wind died on the back nine. You need some luck sometimes and we were lucky with this side of the draw," said Jacquelin.

He took full advantage of calmer conditions, shooting five birdies against two bogeys, and hopes to keep his foot firmly on the pedal after slipping up last weekend at Shanghai Silport when he also led into the weekend by two before finishing tied sixth.

"I am going to play exactly the same. I think the course is a little more fair this week and if you miss the fairway you still have a shot to the green and that will make a big difference for the weekend.

"I am really confident with how I'm hitting the ball. I have improved my putting over the last few weeks and I am just trying to make the strokes and the swing as I do during the practice round. And the birdies are coming. If the weather is good we will have to be low to win this tournament and the putter will have to be hot," said Jacquelin.

Lee, who quit playing baseball during his teens as he couldn't communicate with teammates, has emerged as the darkhorse in the BMW Asian Open. He brilliant saved pars in three of his opening four holes before moving close to the lead with three birdies against a lone dropped shot.

"I got up and down four few times which kept me going," said Lee, who communicates by lip-reading with his father, Kang-kun. "I putted well, had 10 one-putts and 26 in total. I'm swinging it good but I felt average today because of the weather change, yesterday was cold, today was hot.

"I will take it one shot at a time. There won't be any targets. I want to go out and enjoy it. I'm not thinking about the players in the field, just concentrate on my own game," said Lee, who has five top-10s in his four year career on the Asian Tour.

Jimenez, a 13-time winner in Europe, is feeling right at home at the par-72, 7,326 yard Tomson course, with fond memories of his win in 2004 driving him on. He has also hooked up with the club caddie who was on his bag three years ago. The man nicknamed "The Mechanic" because of his penchant for fast cars roared into contention with birdies on the 13th, 14th and ninth holes after starting his day from the back nine.

"I feel very comfortable in this position. Five under par after two rounds when it's quite breezy on the golf course is very good. I played very well today, very solid from tee to green and that's the base of my game these last two days," said Jimenez.

His regular bagman failed to make the trip to the US$2.3 million event, co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour, European Tour and China Golf Association, due to a visa snag but the 43-year-old was pleased to have Tomson caddie Yong Li-hong by his side again. "She's my lucky charm. She's a nice lady, she's very kind and it's good to have her on the golf course. She doesn't read the lines because I like to do that myself but it's nice to have her around. Every time I look back, she's always there," he said.

Els was poised for a weekend charge despite another frustrating day on the greens. "Just not making any putts out there," lamented the three-time Major champion. "Anyway I am playing okay, just not scoring. A little frustrating."

After catching the worse of the afternoon weather on Thursday, Els was hoping to find calmer conditions this morning but he was caught surprised by the stiff breeze that greeted him when he teed off. "It was exactly the same. I thought we might have caught a bit of a break this morning but it was exactly the same wind as yesterday afternoon."

When asked if there was room for a title charge, Els said: "Absolutely. That’s why I am here, why I have made the trip, to have a go. Hopefully I am within five or six shots at the end of the day and then hopefully we can make some putts."

China's Liang Wen-chong and Zhang Lian-wei, who chipped in for birdie on his last hole, qualified for the weekend rounds right on the cut mark of 146 but 17-year-old amateur Hu Mu, touted as the next great hope for China, agonisingly missed out by one shot after a frustrating inward 39 for a 73. American John Daly, one of the marquee names this week, also crashed out of the tournament after adding a 76 to his opening 79.

The winner of the BMW Asian Open will walk away with the top cheque US$383,330 on Sunday while the first player to shoot a hole-in-one at the par three 14th hole will win a BMX X5 vehicle.

Leading second round scores (click here for the full leaderboard):

135 - Raphael Jacquelin (FRA) 66-69

138 - Lee Sung (KOR) 68-70

139 - Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 67-72, Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 70-69, Joakim Backstrom (SWE) 70-69, Scott Hend (AUS) 69-70, Colin Montgomerie (SCO) 69-70

140 - Simon Dyson (ENG) 70-70, Peter Hanson (SWE) 69-71, Markus Brier (AUT) 71-69

141 - Soren Hansen (DEN) 71-70, Scott Barr (AUS) 71-70, Kyron Sullivan (WAL) 75-66, Gavin Flint (AUS) 68-73, Prayad Marksaeng (THA) 72-69, Marcel Siem (GER) 72-69, Christian Cevaer (FRA) 71-70

142 - Keith Horne (RSA) 73-69, Ernie Els (RSA) 71-71, David Griffiths (ENG) 73-69, Simon Wakefield (ENG) 72-70, Andrew Mclardy (RSA) 72-70

143 - Tony Carolan (AUS) 69-74, Matthew Millar (AUS) 73-70, Paul Casey (ENG) 72-71, Damien Mcgrane (IRL) 70-73, Jarmo Sandelin (SWE) 73-70, Mark Pilkington (WAL) 71-72, Graeme Mcdowell (NIR) 73-70, Simon Yates (SCO) 74-69, Gregory Havret (FRA) 68-75, Garry Houston (WAL) 71-72, Adam Le Vesconte (AUS) 72-71

April 20, 2007

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