Turner Trails Song and Spieth in Singapore

Niall Turner finished his second round at the SMBC Singapore Open signing for a level par round on Friday to hold  a share of 30th place - eight strokes off the lead. But only three shots behind Jordan Spieth who also signed for a level par second after opening with a  67 the previous day.

Korea’s Younghan Song surged up the leaderboard after carding an eight-under-par 63 in the second round of the weather-hit event on Friday.

Play was suspended because of inclement weather at 3.06pm (local time) and could not resume due to thunderstorms and lightning activities around the Serapong Course at Sentosa Golf Club.

A total of 78 players, including world number one Jordan Spieth and Byeonghun An who completed seven holes, will return to finish their rounds at 7.30am on Saturday morning with round three scheduled to start immediately upon the completion of the second round.

An was at seven-under while Spieth traded one birdie and one bogey to stay at four-under after six holes, five shots back of Song at the US$1 million event which is co-sanctioned by the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour Organisation (JGTO).

“I didn’t get off to a great start but made a good birdie on number two. That’s golf, that’s weather, you can’t control that. I could tell it was bad on other parts of the course,” said Spieth.

Song was on fire as he marked his card with seven birdies, one eagle and a bogey to establish a two-shot advantage over Japan’s Shintaro Kobayashi with his two-day total of nine-under-par 133.

The Korean stormed off the blocks quickly in the morning, going to five-under after four holes with two birdies and an eagle-three on four.

He charged towards the turn with another two birdies on seven and eight and continued to set the scorching pace with another pair of birdies on 10 and 11 before a bogey-five on 12 put the brakes momentarily on his charge.

After three straight pars from 13, Song sunk another birdie on 16 before reaching home comfortably in 63.

“It was a superb round and I really have to thank my excellent putting for putting me in this position.

“The goal is to win the tournament this week and for now, I just want to take a good rest before I come back again and hopefully play well like what I did today,” said Song.

Kobayashi meanwhile showed no signs of fatigue despite having to return early to complete his first round which was also suspended due to lightning yesterday.

The Japanese followed up his opening effort of a 66 with a 69 to put himself in a commanding position for the weekend rounds.

The 29 year-old had slightly more than an hour of rest before he was back at the tee again.

The Japanese went out in 35 after three birdies and two bogeys and would make another birdie on 17 to sign for a 69.

“I didn’t feel tired at all today. Maybe because it was cool in the morning and it only started to get a little hot and humid as the day went on.

“I feel comfortable on this course and if I continue to play like what I’ve done, anything can happen,” said Kobayashi.

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Things Go Better for Lawrie

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Peter Lawrie continued his steady start to the Hero Indian Open as he carded a one under par 70 in his second round at Delhi Golf Club.

As in his opening round, Dubliner Lawrie started day two by picking up a shot on the first, before making par on the next 10 holes and a birdie on the 14th.

However a dropped shot on the 14th followed by a birdie miss on the 18th, that left him at three under for the tournament and tied for ninth place.

Lawrie is seven shots off the lead of SSP Chawrasia, who along with fellow course specialists Siddikur Rahman demonstrated the advantage of local knowledge to set the pace at the halfway stage of the tournament.

Chawrasia has won twice at Delhi Golf Club, including his maiden European Tour title in 2008, and has yet to card a single bogey this week after rounds of 65 and 67.

That gave the 36-year-old a halfway total of 10 under par, one shot ahead of Bangladesh’s Rahman, who won the event in 2013 before it became co-sanctioned and is a collective 115 under for his last 46 rounds at the venue.

Chawrasia said: “I’m playing very well the last two days. I’ve played here many times so I know how to play on this course; this is the first time I’m bogey-free after 36 holes.

“I feel good and aggressive — I will do the same on the last two days. I’m very happy because I saved a lot of pars; it wasn’t easy to keep the bogeys away from my card, I had to make a lot of saves.

“It is tough when the wind changes direction but I know how to handle it here. I played well through the 2014 season and I started well this year as well, so I’m feeling very confident. I’m very excited for the next two days.”

World number 267 Rahman, who has only finished outside the top 10 once in 11 events on the tight, tree-lined course, carded six birdies, one bogey and one double bogey in his 68.

He said: “I was a little bit disappointed with my double bogey because I had a good number of birdies. I really enjoy playing here and I want to keep the same rhythm in the next two rounds. You will definitely have some pressure but I always try my best to avoid it.”

Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren and Thailand’s Chapchai Nirat had shared the overnight lead with Chawrasia and Rahman but could only manage matching rounds of 71 to lie four shots off the pace on six under.

England’s Richard McEvoy birdied four of his last five holes to card a 67 and finish five under alongside American Paul Peterson, who had five birdies and two bogeys in a 68.

A hole-in-one on the fifth, for which he won a motorcycle, helped Prayad Marksaeng return a round of 70 and finish on four under alongside home favourite Anirban Lahiri.

Lahiri was four over par after a quadruple-bogey eight on his 10th hole on Thursday, but battled back to shoot 73 and surged back into contention with a 65 on Friday.

The world number 39, who won the Malaysian Open a fortnight ago, carded nine birdies and three bogeys, while playing partner Miguel Angel Jimenez had to settle for a 71 to remain one under after an erratic round containing six birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey.

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Hoey Hopes Of Thai Title Fade

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Michael Hoey’s hopes of victory in the Thailand Classic faded after carding a one over par 73 in his third round at Black Mountain.

Hoey, who led after the opening round, started steadily picking up one shot in his opening nine holes to reach the turn at eight under for the tournament.

However the man from Ballmoney failed to gather any momentum and dropped three shots on the back nine before a birdie on the last dragged him to seven under par, eight shots off the lead of Scott Hend.

Big-hitting Hend carded a six-under-par 66 in the third round to take a one-stroke lead ahead of Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez (69) and three-times Asian Tour Order of Merit winner Thongchai Jaidee (67) of Thailand.

Another local hope Kiradech Aphibarnrat posted a 70 to be at fourth spot in the $2 million tournament, co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours.

Hend made birdies on the second and seventh holes but his game went up a gear after making the turn at the Black Mountain Golf Club.

He added another shot on the 10th, sunk an eagle three on the 609-yards 13th and picked up further gains on the 15th and 17th before giving up one on the last for his day’s only blemish.

“It was a good round and puts me in a good position,” Hend said.

“I played very solidly and putted quite well. I only made one mistake so it was pretty good.

“This is where you want to be, in the last group on a Sunday. I’ll be playing with Thongchai again and Miguel so it’ll be a good little test tomorrow.”

Overnight leader Jimenez stayed in the hunt with a spotless round of 69.

“I’m playing well and hitting it well,” the 51-year-old said. “I missed a few putts but I’m creating lots of chances.

“It could have been five or six under today but that’s the game and you have to take it.”

Tournament ambassador Thongchai also matched Jimenez in going bogey-free and was confident he had the game to challenge Hend in the final round.

“I played really well again today. I managed to hit 17 greens and gained lots of confidence from my finishing hole which I birdied,” said Thongchai.

“This course favours the long hitters. Just look at Scott Hend, he was getting on the greens in two on all of the par-fives. On 17, he could even reach the green from the tee!

“My style is not so aggressive but I will use my accuracy and putting and try to go low tomorrow.”

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Michael Hoey - Interview 1st Round

Photo - Asian Tour Golf 

Q: What do you think of a round of 64 to start?

A: I’ll take it. I know the course is scoreable because there’s not a lot of rough, but the wind picks up and the last few holes were tricky today. We probably had ten or 11 holes with no much wind, which was the advantage of teeing off early. But the last few holes were tricky. I putted well and it suits me that if you have a bit of length off the tee, you can cut a few corners and reach the par fives in two. So the course suits me, and I saw that in the pro-am yesterday.

Q: So with the wind up it must be even more satisfying to have a flawless card?

A: Yes it has been a long time since I had a bogey-free card. I was talking to my coaches recently about throwing in double bogeys too often, so to be bogey-free and have no fives on the card and a course record is a nice start. I’m swinging the club well so hopefully I can put three more good rounds together and see what happens.

Q: What was the approach to get rid of the double bogeys?

A: I sent a video of my swing from the range to the guys yesterday and I was hitting it well. I was hitting a little draw shot and they said to go with that rather than trying to play perfect golf. It’s just about keeping your rhythm, simple stuff. It’s not as demanding as the Middle East courses or last week. There’s less water in play but the greens are tough, and I managed to leave myself on the right side of the pin a lot. It was sensible golf.

Q: You’ve been out here long enough to know not to chase for perfection, don’t you?

A: Yes. I left myself some easier uphill putts today and converted them. Whereas if you’re past the pin it’s about 15 on the stimp and you could easily three-putt, so you’ve got to concentrate on what you’re doing. Even though the course is fairly straightforward, the greens aren’t. With the wind coming up, it’s not as easy as you think.

Q: Has it been frustrating, the run you’ve been on?

A: Yes. I started to hit the ball well in the Middle East but I was coming 50th or thereabouts each week. At least I was making cuts and making money, but throwing in a few double bogeys was ruining my scorecards. Hopefully this is the start of some more bogey-free stuff.

Q: But you’re not going to get carried away?

A: Oh no. This is a marathon. I’m just pleased to get something out of it, because I’ve been working hard for a long time and not getting the scores. This is really satisfying to get a good score. Hopefully I can follow it up tomorrow, Friday 13th is going to be lucky for me.

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True Thailand Record for Hoey

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Michael Hoey needed a course record 64 to claim the outright lead on a low scoring opening day at the True Thailand Classic presented by Black Mountain.

The Northern Irishman fired eight birdies at Black Mountain Golf Club to lead Spain’s Carlos Pigem and Taiwan’s Chien-yao Hung by a single shot, and now hopes to avoid the curse of Friday 13th in his second round.

The five-time European Tour winner, who was part of Great Britain & Ireland’s 2001 winning Walker Cup side, did not drop a shot as he moved into a commanding position - holing from 12 feet at the fifth and nearly managing an eagle at the next before settling for a last gain of the day.

“We had ten or 11 holes with not much wind, which was an advantage teeing off early,” said Hoey.

“I hit the ball well, and it suits me that there’s a bit of length off the tee; you can carry a few corners and reach the par fives in two.

“It has been a long time since I had a bogey-free card. To be bogey-free and have no fives on the card - and a course record - is a nice start. I’m swinging the club well so hopefully I can put three more good rounds together and see what happens.

“I started to hit the ball well in the Middle East, but I was coming 50th or thereabouts each week. At least I was making cuts and making money, but throwing in a few double bogeys was ruining my scorecards. Hopefully this is the start of some more bogey-free stuff.

“This is a marathon. I’m just pleased to get something out of it, because I’ve been working hard for a long time and not getting the scores. This is really satisfying to get a good score and hopefully I can follow it up tomorrow - Friday 13th is going to be lucky for me!”

Lipsky, who enjoyed a breakthrough win in Switzerland last year, finished with back-to-back gains to join co-sanctioning Asian Tour regulars Hung and Pigem on seven under, one ahead of India’s Shiv Kapur.

Kiradech Aphibarnrat led a strong home challenge on five under, but it would have been even better had the big hitter not found water and a bunker down the 18th in running up a double bogey seven.

Italian teenager Renato Paratore briefly caught Hoey with five birdies in six holes after the turn propelling him to eight under.

But the Qualifying School graduate bogeyed the seventh and dropped two shots at the next – his penultimate hole – to slip back into the group on five under, which also contained Miguel Angel Jiménez.

The Spaniard produced the day’s champagne moment when he holed his approach to the ninth for eagle and celebrated with a jig on the fairway.

Tournament ambassador Thongchai Jaidee and Ryder Cup star Thomas Bjørn both made solid starts with rounds of 69.

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GMAC Leads HSBC Champions

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Graeme McDowell was left to rue two closing bogeys but his first round 67 was still good enough to grab a two-shot lead after the first round of the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.

McDowell who leads the way after a flying start to the day at Sheshan International which saw him play his first 12 holes in seven-under-par.

He dropped two shots in his last six holes though to finish on five-under for the tournament, but that was still two strokes better than the chasing pack of six including Rickie Fowler and Martin Kaymer on three-under.

Starting from the 10th, the Ryder Cup star birdied his opening hole and picked up further shots on the 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th to race to the turn in 31, before birdies at the second and third took him well clear of a star-studded field.

However, the former US Open champion dropped his first shot of the day on the fourth and paid the price for missing his only fairway of the round on the 603-yard eighth hole, a par-five which had so far given up just two birdies.

McDowell said: “Obviously the course played fairly difficult today. The wind direction had switched completely from practice, some of the game plan had switched a little bit and some of the holes were playing pretty long," said McDowell.

Tough

"This is as tough off the tee as I think I've ever seen this golf course.

“Seven under par through 12 holes was a beautiful start, and although I dropped a couple coming in, all in all I’m very, very pleased with five under par on what I thought was a reasonably tricky day."

At five-under-par, McDowell enjoyed a two-shot lead over American trio Fowler, Chris Kirk and Brandt Snedeker, along with South African Tim Clark, Englishman Tommy Fleetwood and fellow Ryder Cup star Kaymer.

"It's a good start and I really enjoy playing here anyway," said Kaymer, who shot a final round of 63 on his way to victory in 2011 and also holds the course record of 62.

"Even when I was at level par today I just kept telling myself, you enjoy the golf course so much, and you will have plenty of birdie chances, so you just need to wait. Fortunately today on the back nine, it turned out well."

A host of big names sit just one shot further back on two-under, with English duo Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood carding rounds of 70 along with Henrik Stenson, Jordan Spieth, Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen.

American Dustin Johnson (absent this week) claimed the title 12 months ago with a winning total of 24 under par, but Justin Rose - who was fifth last year - had correctly predicted heavier rough and firmer greens would make scoring more difficult.

Rose, who was fourth in the BMW Masters on Sunday, mixed four birdies with four bogeys for a level par round of 72.

Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez, who took 13 on the ninth hole during his final round last week, struggled to an opening 78, while FedEx Cup winner Billy Horschel managed just one birdie in a round of 80.

Lawrie Looks Good at Laguna

Peter Lawrie signed for a third round 67 at Laguna National in Singapore on Saturday to secure a tie for 20th place and into the money for the first time this season.

The Dubliner birdied the par-five 15th before he added four straight birdies after the turn and carded one bogey at the sixth. Then recovering a stroke at the next before making par over the last two holes.

Anders Hansen and Panuphol Pittayarat share the lead going into the final day of the event.

The duo are tied on 16 under par, with Denmark’s Hansen enjoying a strong finish to move level with day-two leader Pittayarat.

Hansen signed for birdies on the 15th, 16th and 17th holes to take a five-under-par 67 for the day, with Thailand’s Pittayarat three under.

A victory charge is a real boost for Hansen, who is playing in just his fourth tournament following a six-month absence owing to wrist surgery.

“I’m very pleased,” he said. “I didn’t hit the ball that great but I made a couple of good putts and I hit a lot of greens.

“Every time you are up there you have to be pleased and I am looking forward to tomorrow.”

Dutch golfer Robert-Jan Derksen, in his final season, is two shots behind the leaders, sharing third with America’s David Lipsky. Gregory Bourdy and England’s Chris Woodare next on the board.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood is one of four players four shots off the pace, being joined by Felipe Aguilar, Terry Pilkadaris and Rahil Gangjee.

Like Lawrie, Gareth Maybin and Simon Thornton will also be looking for strong final rounds after both made it to eight under at the end of play on Saturday.

Maybin carded two birdies and had no dropped shots in a two-under 70, while Thornton’s 69 was a mixed bag that included seven birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey five at the par-three 17th.

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Captain GMAC EurAsia Ready

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Graeme McDowell will help lead Team Europe's challenge at next year's inaugural EurAsia Cup in Malaysia.

After being unveiled as the European captain at a press conference in Hong Kong, Miguel Angel Jimenez announced the first four automatic qualifiers for his 10-man team, with McDowell being joined by Wales' Jamie Donaldson, Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano.

The quartet secured their places on the team thanks to their final position in the 2013 Race to Dubai.

The remaining spots in the European side will be taken from the leading four available players from the Official World Golf Ranking on February 3, 2014, the playing captain and one captain's pick by Jimenez.

McDowell, who won the US Open in 2010 and claimed the winning point at that year's Ryder Cup, said: "I am really looking forward to playing the EurAsia Cup.

"It's a great concept to bring Asia and Europe together and I think it has a lot of potential to become a very big event."

The Northern Irishman added: "Everyone knows the standards in Asian golf are continually rising and I have no doubt it will be a tough job to go away from home and win.

"But if we gel as a team and get the pairings right then we will have a chance because there will be a lot of quality and experienced players in the European Team and I am sure a few of them will be looking to sharpen their match play skills with an eye on the Ryder Cup next year."

Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee is captain of the Asian team.

His team will include the leading four available Asian players from the final 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit, the leading three available Asian players invited on the basis of their Official World Golf Ranking, the playing captain and two captain's picks.

The EurAsia Cup will take place at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Kuala Lumpur from March 27-29.

Turner Looking to Hero

Photo: AsianTour

Niall Turner is the sole Irish entry at Hero Indian Open on the Asian Tour in two weeks where he will join PGA Tour winner Michael Thompson and Robert Rock for the Golden Jubilee of this event. 

The Muskerry golfer returns to action after finishing 32nd at the OneAsia Venetian Macau won by Australian Scott Hend, with Ernie Els third.  

It has been a mixed season for Turner who was unsuccessful at the European Tour Qualifying School Stage 1 in France earlier this month, where he finished 30th and outside qualification spots for Stage 2. At the Northern Ireland Challenge presented by Clannah and XJet at Galgorm Castle Niall missed the cut after opening rounds of 75 and 78.  However in Macau rounds of 73-68-72-71 showed that form is returning.

Niall made his Asian Tour debut in 2011 and claimed three top-20's in his first nine months on Tour.  In 2012 he contended for the Handa Faldo Cambodian Classic before finishing third and also finished top-20 in three other events during the season.

Next on his roster is the US$1.25 million Indian tournament will return to its birth place in 1964 at the venerable Delhi Golf Club from November 7 to 10, 2013.

Befitting the 50th edition of the Hero Indian Open, the local stars including Arjun Atwal, the first Indian to win on the US PGA Tour and Jyoti Randhawa, one of two players to win the Indian Open three times will vie for honours at India’s most prestigious golfing events.

Four other Indian winners, C Muniyappa (2009), Vijay Kumar (2002), Feroz Ali (1998) and Ali Sher (1991 and 1993) will add to the charm of the historic staging.

Mr. Pawan Munjal, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Hero MotoCorp Ltd., said, “Hero has been associated with golf since the time the game was at a nascent stage in the country. It is, therefore, a matter of immense delight to see this event celebrating its Golden Jubilee this year.

Hero has been a partner in this glorious journey of golf and like always, we remain committed to the promotion of the game in India. I am looking forward to some memorable golf at this landmark edition of Hero Indian Open.”

Only seven Indians have won the National Open, of which the first PG Billoo Sethi (winner in 1965) passed away in 1982. The remaining six will be seen in action at the DGC this year.

While the past champions savour and relive their finest moments, the youth brigade led by four-time Asian Tour winner, Gaganjeet Bhullar, three-time Asian Tour winner, Anirban Lahiri and other winners like S.S.P. Chowrasia, Shiv Kapur, Himmat Rai and Digvijay Singh will also fancy their chances at the legendary and challenging layout at the Delhi Golf Club.

“The Asian Tour is proud to be associated with the 50th edition of the Hero Indian Open. The Asian Tour is also celebrating its 10th season in 2013 and on behalf of our talented players, I would like to congratulate the Hero Indian Open on its milestone,” said Asian Tour CEO Mike Kerr.

“The Hero Indian Open has been one of the longest running tournaments on our Schedule and the event has attracted many top golfers in India as well as from across the world. I’m confident the 2013 Hero Indian Open will be celebrated by the presence of the Asian Tour’s stellar stars including defending champion Thaworn.”

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