Søren Kjeldsen, one of the most consistent performers on The 2003 European Tour International Schedule, lived up his billing once again at Gleneagles when he claimed the lead at the halfway stage of The Diageo Championship.
As the winds continued to swirl around the PGA Centenary Course, the 28 year old Dane, out in the third group of the day, took advantage of the slightly less blustery morning conditions to post a 68 for a four under par total of 140 and claim the lead by a shot from England’s Paul Broadhurst.
Australia’s Brad Kennedy and Rolf Muntz of the Netherlands, both out late in the afternoon, threatened to join Kjeldsen at the top of the leaderboard for a spell but ended their day in a share of third place on two under par 142, leaving the diminutive Dane in the spotlight.
Starting at the tenth hole Kjeldsen, who has notched five top 12 finishes this season and only missed the cut in one of his 15 appearances, began his ascent up the leaderboard early with four birdies in his first six holes from the tenth.
The highlight came at the short 14th, where he pitched in for a birdie two from fully 25 yards away after pulling his tee shot left of the green, and he added another at the par five second before shedding his only shot of the day, at the 431 yard third where he failed to get up and down after coming up short with his approach.
He then succeeded in covering the demanding stretch from the fourth hole to the ninth hole in six par figures, to ensure he ended the day in pole position.
“I have felt really good about things this year and I have been swinging the club well all year,” said Kjeldsen. “Generally everything has been good with my game and the more good tournaments you play, the more confident you get. My putting was particularly good today, I think I only had 24 putts which is unbelievable in these conditions.”
Kjeldsen admitted the recent success of Danish golfers on The European Tour such as Thomas Björn, Anders Hansen and Søren Hansen, as well as the evolvement of the first European Tour event on Danish soil this year, had spurred him on.
“The attention that we get now about golf in Denmark is unbelievable and a lot of people are aware who the good players are, everybody wants to go and watch them play golf. Because of that, it feels to me like, if they can do it, I can do it.”
Paul Broadhurst moved into second place on three under par 141 after matching Kjeldsen’s 68 and the 37 year old Englishman admitted it was good to be back in the frame after a difficult few years which saw him lose his card and 15 months golf through two troublesome wrist injuries.
“I never really thought about not carrying on,” said Broadhurst. “All my friends and family believe in me and they are still right behind me so it is nice to repay their faith with days like today.”
Like Kjeldsen, Broadhurst carded five birdies and only one bogey, at the short 17th where he turned over his four iron tee shot, the highlight of his birdie haul coming at the demanding 13th where he holed out for three from fully 40 feet.
“I’ve had one or two good rounds recently, it is now just a case of trying to string four together,” he added. “I played nicely last week in France, but putted terribly. I finished 20th and that is really as bad as it could have been.”
One shot behind the Englishman, Brad Kennedy and Rolf Muntz might have ended the day sharing third place on two under par 142, but they arrived at the score via vastly differing routes.
Kennedy, who finished tied for second with Retief Goosen behind eventual champion Arjun Artwal in this year’s Carlsberg Malaysian Open in February, carded four birdies and four bogeys in his 72, while Muntz, the 2000 Qatar Masters champion, was steadiness personified with 16 pars and two birdies on his card.
“Unfortunately it was a little too consistent today,” said Muntz. “I had a lot of chances from ten feet and in but failed to take most of them. But that is the way it goes sometimes and over the weekend I hope I can keep plodding on as everyone else goes mad!”
Kennedy said: “After two early bogeys, it was nice to get things back on track with three birdies in a row from the seventh. I knew the wind wasn’t easing up and the back nine would be tough so I’m pleased I managed to grind it out.”
Four players shared fifth place on one under par 143, Welshman Stephen Dodd, Spain’s Ivo Giner, and the two highest placed home country challengers in the field, Alastair Forsyth and Gary Orr, who carded respective rounds of 73 and 68.
At the end of the day, the cut fell at eight over par 152, equalling the highest cut of the year which came in the Carlsberg Malaysian Open at The Mines Resort & Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur in February.
