Ernie Els lived up to his pre-tournament billing as favourite when a 67 at Laguna National Golf and Country Club gave the South African the clubhouse lead in the second round of the Caltex Masters, presented by Carlsberg, Singapore 2003.
Due to the interruptions incurred by thunder and lightning on the first day, the carry over delay meant the second round was not fully completed but, having had no stoppages on day two, only 21 players will be required to return first thing in the morning to finish up before the third round can get underway.
None of this however, affected Els who finished off the last three holes of his first round 69 before bettering that effort with an afternoon 67 for an eight under par total of 136, which put him a shot clear of playing partner and defending champion Arjun Atwal, fellow Indian Jeev Milkha Singh, and Asian-based Scot Simon Yates.
Despite leading, Els admitted he was a little disappointed not to have scored even better, passing up makeable birdie chances from around ten feet on each of his last three holes, the seventh, eighth and ninth.
“I hit some good putts earlier in the round but just didn’t get the putts right on those last three holes,” said Els. “I hit a lot of fairways and greens and gave myself a lot of opportunities, I’ve just got to wait for the putter to get going.
“I’m just not getting the speed of the greens. That is quite frustrating but it is just a personal thing. It sounds like I am taking it out on the greens but I am not. I’ve just got to get the speed and the grain right, there is nothing wrong with the greens.”
In total, Els notched four birdies and an eagle at the 547 yard 11th, where he holed his pitch shot from 20 feet, his disappointing finish compounded when he dropped his only shot of the day at the sixth following a poor drive.
Ironically, Els’s playing partner Atwal also dropped a shot at the sixth before giving up his chance of sharing the lead when he missed the green to bogey the short eighth as well. Despite that, the 2002 champion, who carded a second round 70, remained upbeat.
“I have good memories of this golf course,” he said. “I am swinging the club a little better than last year and feel comfortable with my swing and that is important. Hopefully I can keep playing the way I have been and give myself a chance on Sunday.”
Certainly Els refused to rule out the Indian golfer’s chances of notching back-to-back wins in the tournament. “He is playing wonderfully well and is a very good player,” said Els. “He putts well and has been especially impressive with his irons. I think he will be a huge factor this weekend.”
Alongside Atwal on seven under par 137, Scotland’s Simon Yates produced a strong finish to keep alive his hopes of a first victory on The European Tour, three birdies in his last six holes paving the way for 69.
“I am pretty happy with the way I am playing,” said the 32 year old Scot. “There were some tough pin positions out there today so to shoot 69 was good. I am one shot behind Ernie Els, who is obviously the favourite, but it is a good position to head into the third round.”
The third player on seven under par 137, Jeev Milkha Singh, held the lead on his own at one point late in the day before a double bogey five at the short fifth in the gathering gloom saw him slip back into a share of second.
One player who will not be competing in the third round will be China’s Wen-Chong Liang who received the unwanted distinction of being the first player to be disqualified from a European Tour event for using a non-conforming driver.
On January 1 this year, The European Tour and the Asian Tour issued a new condition of competition which limits the COR (co-efficient of restitution) on driving clubs (less than 15 degrees loft) to .830. A weekly list of non-conforming clubs is posted on tournament noticeboards but Liang did not check and found, at the end of his round, that his Mizuno 300 SII was on the list.
At three over par 147, the Chinaman would not have made the cut anyway, neither would have Philippines golfer Danny Zarate, who finished at five over par 149, but who was disqualified for having too many clubs in his bag.
