Molinari holds firm, but Westwood is lurking
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Luke'in good – Donald strikes out on the par-5 14th. He currently lies 7th on six-under. |
One shot ahead is Lee Westwood, who is going out of his way this week to show that his place as the new World no. 1 is merited. Nothing much happened for Lee until he birdied the par-5 9th, but he lost that stroke with a bogey on 12. A birdie followed on the par-5 14th, and he was one of those bold enough to pull out the driver on the short par-4 16th and go for the green. He almost got the full reward, with a long putt from the fringe at the back of the green that just missed giving him an eagle, but it left him with a knock-in for birdie. A birdie on 18 too leaves him on his own at 8-under in second place.
Westwood is obviously enjoying the tournament, and the fact of playing in China. "I've always come over to Asia and played a lot. Certainly there's a big boom in China, and the way we are going to find a Chinese superstar of the future is by playing more tournaments here. So it's great for people like HSBC, and great too for the people who play the game that in tough times like these there are sponsors like HSBC who will continue to support golf in China."
Two much less-heralded names are tied with Els at 7-under. You don't often see a Scotsman anywhere near the top of the leaderboard these days. Indeed Richie Ramsey is the only man from the home of golf to have qualified for the tournament – he won in South Africa earlier this year. But he is looking in good - and even more important consistent – form. A 69 on Day 1 and a 68 today were enough to put him in the second-last group going out tomorrow, alongside Els and Luke Donald.
Ramsey tried to put his finger on the players' struggles today. "The conditions are good, but you're not getting much run on the fairway. This is a long course, and that means it's playing even longer. I think that's what's making it difficult."
The other player who made big strides today is hardly a household name either, although his is hardly one you would be likely to forget. Indeed Jaco Van Zyl is so little-known that he might even win an ‘un-famous' contest with Ramsey. He started the day on 1-under, and maintained a suitably low profile for his first nine holes, dropping back to even-par. But on the back nine his clubs caught fire. He picked up eight strokes in seven holes with five birdies followed by an eagle, and he can forget any thoughts of anonymity tomorrow. He'll go out in the last group with Westwood and Molinari,
Good luck Jaco. Van Zyls from all around the world will have their fingers crossed for you.
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