Faldo two behind O'Hern

Nick Faldo produced an inspired finish to remain on course for his first European Tour victory since 1994 in the £630,000 Caltex Singapore Masters at Laguna National.

Faldo, making his first appearance in Singapore since winning the Johnnie Walker Classic here in 1993, holed birdie putts from 30 and 40 feet on two of his last three holes to card a second round 69 for a seven-under-par halfway total.

That left the 44-year-old Englishman just two shots off the lead still held by overnight leader Nick O'Hern, the Staffordshire-based Australian adding a 71 to his opening course record 64.

Starting on the 10th in overcast but humid conditions, Faldo opened with five straight pars before birdies on the 15th and 16th to reach the turn in 34.

A further eight pars followed before the six-time major winner holed from 30feet on the par five seventh, bogeyed the treacherous par three eighth with its green almost entirely surrounded by water, and then conjured up a remarkable birdie on the ninth, his final hole.

Pulling his drive way left, Faldo was happy to simply get his second onto the putting surface, but promptly holed from 40feet down and across a severe slope, turning to the crowd with a look of amazement at such an unlikely bonus.

"I actually played better today than yesterday and had quite a few chances," said Faldo, already with top 10 finishes in his first two events of 2002.

"I hit a good putt on 10 that went right around the hole, left it short on 11 by an eighth of an inch, so I had to be patient and grind on and made the day by holing two big putts on seven and nine.

"On the ninth I was unhappy hitting driver and just decelerated and pulled it way left, and was just aiming to get it on the blooming green. It was a good 40feet, a snaky putt and a good one to hole.

"I think it will be a little bit tricky this afternoon and if the wind gets up I might be in with a shout, at least I'll be in the last couple of groups. 36 holes left is a long way to go."

Faldo had been three behind O'Hern when he finished but the left-hander dropped his only shot of the day at the 16th to finish on nine-under 135.

Unheralded American Jim Johnson was in second place a shot behind O'Hern after a 67 today, with Faldo one of five players a shot further back.

O'Hern, seeking his first tour win, said: "I played pretty similar to yesterday but just didn't hole the putts I did then. I had a lot of opportunities but missed two or three putts from five or six feet for birdies which was disappointing.

"I'm surprised no one made much of a charge. There was not much breeze on the front nine so it was there for the taking."

Faldo's prediction looked like coming true with none of the remaining morning starters able to surpass O'Hern at the top of the leaderboard.

Christophe Pottier was the most likely challenger, the Frenchman starting his second round in the penultimate group of the day on seven under following his first round 65 that had established the course record for a few hours until overtaken by O'Hern's 64.

Pottier dropped a shot at the 10th, his opening hole, but hit back with a brace of birdies to move to eight under and join Johnson in second place.

The round of the day so far had come from England's Gary Clark, the Londoner adding a second round 66 to his opening 72 to be just one shot behind Faldo and three off the lead.

Clark, who lost his card in 1996 but regained it through the Challenge Tour last season courtesy of nine top 10 finishes, finished in style with an eagle and two birdies in his last four holes.

A bogey on the 16th saw Pottier drop back to seven under and he had to scramble to save par on each of the next two holes, both times recovering from greenside bunkers to remain within two of the lead.

O'Hern still held that lead by one from Johnson and now England's Chris Williams as well, the 42-year-old picking up three shots to move to eight under.

Williams was born in Liverpool, but moved to South Africa aged two when his father Keith - a professional footballer who played for Everton, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Tranmere and Plymouth Argyle - went to play for a team in Johannesburg.

He has already won the South African PGA this year in his 23rd year as a professional and was second twice in a four-year spell on the European Tour in the early 90s.

Pottier could not scramble another par on the first hole, his 10th, however, and with Williams also dropping a shot, it looked as though precious little would change at the top of the leaderboard.

At the other end of the field, Ian Woosnam had missed the halfway cut with plenty to spare after adding a second round 79 to his opening 73 to finish on eight-over-par.

The 43-year-old was playing his first tournament in over three months and was understandably rusty, four balls into the water that comes into play on 12 of Laguna National's 18 holes costing him dear, including double bogeys on three par threes.

"Every time I hit a bad shot I hit it into the water," Woosnam said. "It was just one bad shot every now and again that went straight right.

"After three-and-a-half months I have to start from scratch, I don't know what I'm doing. I think I just need to play. On this course if you're not playing well it's going to catch up with you and can add up to a big number."

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