Richard tied for the lead
Article posted: 24 August 2012
If there's no-one in front of me after another two rounds, I'll be delighted
Richard Finch heads into the weekend tied for the lead at the Johnnie Walker Championship after firing a five under par 67 in his second round.
Resuming on three under, Finch made five birdies on the back nine, including three in his last five holes, to propel himself to the top of the Gleneagles leaderboard.
"I'm delighted," he said. "It's nice to be up there and hopefully it'll be a good weekend.
"Without actually playing really good, I've been scoring well. That is exactly the opposite to how I've been doing, so it feels quite strange.
"I don't know exactly when I was last leading a tournament but it's a good position to be in, and if there's no-one in front of me after another two rounds, I'll be delighted."
In tough conditions, it was a fine day for ISM golfers, with four other players – Gregory Bourdy, David Howell, Chris Wood and Matthew Nixon - inside the top ten.
Bourdy closed with a birdie hat-trick to sign for a superb 66 and go tied fifth on six under.
"It’s great," he said. "I played solid and today, my putting was much better. I made eight birdies with three at the end – it is always great to finish like this.
"I feel confident so will keep trying to play like this. I will do my best this weekend."
Howell and Wood are poised one and two shots behind Bourdy after posting rounds of 69 and 70 respectively.
"I’m delighted," said Howell, who is tied seventh. "It’s not easy out here. It’s a big, long golf course and I haven’t done well here for a few years. I think this is the first time I’ve made the cut in goodness knows how many years.
"I played really nicely yesterday. Today, it was a bit more of a battle. It is encouraging that my short game was really sharp. I chipped one in and turned a reasonably tricky day into a serene 69."
Wood, who is joined in tied ninth by Nixon, who finished three under today, said: "Long game-wise, I didn’t play as well as I have done the last few months.
"Yesterday, I was pleased to get the ball round in a reasonable score without playing my best. But today was one step forward, two steps back. I gave myself chances but I’m finding it pretty hard to hole putts."
Fredrik Andersson Hed, Scott Pinckney and Romain Wattel are tied 31st on two under.
In New York, Charl Schwartzel is two under at the Barclays after signing for a 69 in his second round. Louis Oosthuizen and Lee Westwood are both one under.
Categories
Blogs
Archives
