| Coventry,
England, 11th September 1998 -
Spain's Carl Suneson, fighting long-term illness and trying to keep his European
Tour card, raised his game to tie Darren Clarke for the second round lead in the
British Masters on Friday. While
Clarke faltered on the greens to fade to a one-under-par 71, Suneson holed out
well to shoot a second 69. They
shared the lead on 138 one stroke ahead of Argentine Eduardo Romero, who bogeyed
the last for a 69 to drop out of a tie for the top, and Swede Jarmo Sandelin,
who also carded 69. Joint
leader Suneson, born in Spain to a British mother and Swedish father, has suffered
thyroid gland problems over the past year and his health and ranking has suffered.
With only £22,000
($37,130) banked and around £50,000 ($84,390) likely to be needed to retain his
card for next year, the 31-year-old Las Palmas player is desperate for a good
tournament as the season nears its end. Five
birdies, three in a row from the third, set up his chance of a first tour victory
and gave him hope of keeping his card after missing 18 cuts, including the last
eight. "I'm
feeling healthier just recently after my health problems and I've worked a bit
on the mental side of things to get my game back in shape as well," said
Suneson. "Now
I'm holing more than the average share of putts and that's the key. My game's
not been that bad but my short game has let me down. "Missing
such a lot of cuts has definitely been down to my health problems. My hands get
cold, they get sweaty, definitely the thyroid problem. I've been taking hormones
for the past two months, though, and that's made a big difference. "I'm
bound to be a bit nervous at the weekend because I've made only £22,000
and everyone knows how hard it is to get your card back again so you don't want
to lose it." Clarke's
aim is to be number one in Europe on Sunday night, and though he kept five shots
ahead of the player he trails by just £5,498 ($9,279) in the rankings, Lee Westwood
of England, the Irishman was upset to lose ground. He
needed 32 putts and dropped two late shots after an eagle and a birdie early in
the round. "That
was another fine example of taking as many shots as I possibly can," said
Clarke, who feels not taking all his chances properly over the last month has
stopped him heading the Order of Merit. "I
played well and had an awful lot of chances but took 32 putts. I missed a dozen
inside 12-15 feet. Knock in half of them and I'm flying." Westwood
is on 143 but could have been two better but for a last hole double-bogey. Playing-partner
Ian Woosnam needed only 28 shots coming home for a 66 which pulled him up to seventh
place on 141 after he was six over par after seven holes of the second round,
five shots worse than the eventual cut. England's
18-year-old professional Justin Rose missed his sixth successive cut by five strokes
despite improving to a 70 for 150 and has just one invitation left to try to earn
next year's card.
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