Stolz vaults into lead

A superb +19 round by Andre Stolz has propelled the Australian to the top of the leaderboard after a rain-interrupted second round of the ANZ Championship at The Lakes in Sydney.

Thunderstorms and rain put an hiatus on proceedings a number of times today but that was no concern for Stolz, who was streaming up the Lakes well before the rain fell. He shot a 65 off the stick and picked up 19 points under the modified stableford format.

Stolz sits alone at the top of the leaderboard at +30, one point ahead of South African Trevor Immelman and two points ahead of Craig Parry at +28. With wild weather circling Sydney in the afternoon, the clubhouse appeared the safest place to be. The top seven players were all part of the morning groups.

Stolz, a former winner of the Australasian PGA TOUR Championship, started on the back nine and in a confident mood with birdies on 11, 13, 14 and 18 and a wonderful eagle on 17. He then birdied the first two holes on the outward nine. Birdies on 6 and 9 finished off a terrific round for the former apprentice at The Lakes.

"I started off in the fog on 10 this morning and my playing partner Mathais Gronberg started going ballistic with four birdies on the first five holes, so that got me going, I think," he said.

"I did my last two years of my traineeship here, so I'm glad we're at The Lakes this week and enjoying the new format."

Immelman, who has been in good form on the Australasian Tour in recent weeks, shot seven birdies and an eagle in his round today. He also picked up 19 points in the Sydney morning sunshine to put himself in a great position for the weekend.

Craig Parry, who has played more rounds around this layout than most, aced the 190m par-3 15th hole but had to be content with a maximum +5 points as it’s the same points differential as an eagle. He then followed suit with another +5 on the par-5 second in hot pursuit of Stolz and a clubhouse lead, only to fall just short.

"I've played The International tournament in the States about nine or ten times so I'm used to the format - it's different isn't it?," Parry said today post-round.

"The Lakes is well suited to the format. I'm hoping to use this week to make a move on the Top 50 as I'm very keen to play The Masters and the Accenture Match Play in a few weeks."

Victoria’s Scott Laycock is in outright fourth at +27, after a 16-point round today.

Spaniard Carlos Rodiles is two points further back, currently in fifth.

Overnight leader Jonathan Lomas was one of many players struggling in the descending evening gloom. He is not due to finish his round for some time and has only picked up one point in his first 15 holes to move to +21.

Most of the afternoon players made hard work of the conditions with Stephen Gallacher the exception. The Scot finished +12 today and +22 for the tournament after six birdies in his first 13 holes.

Gallacher’s compatriot Andrew Coltart, also handled the constant rain delays well. He rocketed up the leaderboard moving up 11 points to +16.

The leading Aussie overnight, Euan Walters also made solid progress. The Victorian picked up eight points today to move to +20.

The best recovery came from Swede Jarmo Sandelin, who shot a disastrous 80 off the stick yesterday to begin today’s round at –7 points. But eight birdies and an eagle today put paid to any thought the Swede would be spending the weekend sightseeing.

He picked up 20 points with his superb round of 64, the highlight of which was a spectacular eagle at the long par-4 third.

The projected cut is currently at around +10.

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