Colsaerts grabs halfway lead at BMW Masters
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BELGIUM’S Nicolas Colsaerts moved to the top of the leaderboard after an 8-under-par 64 score in the second round of the BMW Masters at the Lake Malaren Golf Club in Shanghai yesterday.
Shooting a 6-under 66 in Thursday’s first round, Colsaerts made nine birdies and a lone bogey yesterday to take the halfway lead at 14-under, overtaking Frenchman Alex Levy by one shot.
“I felt like I’ve been in the zone a couple of times lately and it doesn’t really happen in such a short period of time like this,” said the 31-year-old Belgian.
“So it’s pretty nice when you can get it going like this and I’ve been playing quite well for the last couple of months.”
Colsaerts has rediscovered his form in the past month after being inspired by watching Europe retain the Ryder Cup.
The 31-year-old was a member of the European team that won the Ryder Cup in 2012, but missed selection this year after sliding down the rankings.
Motivated to get back to his best, he finished second to Levy in the rain-shortened Portugal Masters and has put himself in contention inn Shanghai.
Levy, who also won this year’s Volvo China Open, got off to a flying start yesterday, when he birdied three of his first four holes then picked up more shots at the seventh and 11th, but a bogey on the 12th saw him end the day a shot behind.
Levy’s compatriot Romain Wattel was two shots further back on 11-under after a 67, with German Marcel Siem (66), South Africa’s Branden Grace (66) and Emiliano Grillo (68) of Argentina all at 10 under.
Triple bogey eight
Denmark’s Thomas Bjorn recovered from a triple bogey eight on the third for a 67 to finish at 9 under while Justin Rose was two shots further back after a 65.
Leading the Chinese pack was Zheng Ouyang, who was level par on the first day, and managed a 6-under 66 yesterday to share 17th position with five others. Hu Mu and Li Haotong were both 25th at 4 under.
China’s top-ranked golfer Liang Wenchong is yet to find his groove on the course in Baoshan District, where he finished at a historic high of 15th last year. His rounds of 72 and 70 left him outside the top 45.
The BMW Masters is the first of four “Final Series” events that conclude the European Tour season. Rory McIlroy, with an insurmountable lead in the Race to Dubai, chose to skip the two events in China and the third event in Turkey.
In Kuala Lumpur, American Billy Hurley III grabbed a two-shot halfway stage lead at the CIMB Classic after his front-nine birdie binge yesterday, Reuters reported.
The former US Navy officer sunk six birdies for an outward 30 in his second successive round of 67 to go 10-under 134 in the tournament sanctioned by the PGA and Asian Tour.
Compatriot Kevin Streelman carded a bogey-free 68 to lie second, one shot ahead of a pack of seven that included Englishman Lee Westwood, who shot a hole-in-one en route to the day’s low of 65, Spaniard Sergio Garcia (68) and defending champion Ryan Moore (69).
“I even played a little bit better probably than the score is on the front side,” said Hurley who dropped a double bogey on the second and birdied the seventh.
“I hit a lot of really good putts that kind of just hit the edge. There are 36 holes of golf left. You know, a two-shot lead is better than a one-shot lead, but it’s not quite as good as a four-shot lead,” added Hurley, eyeing his maiden PGA Tour win.
Westwood charged into contention with the shot of the day when he aced the par-3 11th.
“Obviously I hit a great shot at 11 that was the highlight of the round,” said the Ryder Cup player who also rolled in five birdies. “You need a bit of luck but at the same time you’ve got to hit well and straight.”
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