|
Bet
on this tournament & other sports here
Fasth on
course for title defence
Defending champion
Niclas Fasth of Sweden fired a bogey-free round of nine-under 63
to move atop the leaderboard after Friday's second round of the
Madeira Island Open. Fasth, whose two-day total of 12-under-par
132 set a new 36-hole record for this event, leads England's John
Bickerton by two strokes.
Fasth collected
four birdies on the front nine, including three in a row from the
sixth through the eighth, to make the turn in 32. He knocked a nine-iron
from 130 yards out to six feet for the first of three straight birdies
from the 10th, then rolled in a 20-footer at 14 for his eighth birdie
of the day.
The 28-year-old
Swede used an eight-iron at the par-three 17th to set up a three-foot
putt for his final birdie.
"You can make
birdies on this course," said Fasth, who recorded his maiden victory
in this event a year ago. "Certainly not guaranteed to make nine
but you can make some."
Fasth managed
to equal his career-low round despite what he felt was a shaky start
at Santo da Serra Golf Club.
"I missed from
about three [feet] on the first and missed the green on the second,"
he said. "But from the third onwards I made very few mistakes and
got away with it. Once or twice when I did make mistakes I still
saved a par."
Bickerton,
who was forced to withdraw from last week's Qatar Masters because
of a case of gastroenteritis, felt well enough Friday to put together
a five-birdie, no-bogey 67 to get to 10-under par.
Fellow Swede
Henrik Stenson shot 66 to grab a share of third place at eight-under
136 with Gary Emerson, Markus Brier, Massimo Florioli, Jose Manuel
Lara, Andrew Oldcorn and first-round co-leader Des Smyth.
Five-time major
winner Seve Ballesteros posted a four-under 68 to survive his first
cut since September. He finished two rounds tied at five-under with
nine players, including Malcolm Mackenzie, who began the day tied
for the lead with Smyth. Mackenzie had a one-over 73.
A total of
80 players made the cut, which fell at even-par 144.
Email this page to a friend | Return
to top of page
|
