Peter Hanson, winner of last week’s Jazztel Open de España en Andalucia, showed there is a lot to be said for momentum in the world of professional golf when he moved into a share of the clubhouse lead with Michael Campbell, Retief Goosen and Adam Scott in the Johnnie Walker Classic.
With play at the Pine Valley Golf Resort & Country Club in Beijing have been severely disrupted by gale force winds during the opening round on Thursday, of the leading quartet, only Hanson, Goosen and Campbell completed two rounds, Scott sharing the limelight after having only completed one round – his course record nine under par 63 which took two days to compile.
The other three reached nine under par 135, Hanson and Campbell posting second round 65s to add to their opening 70s, while Goosen tagged a 67 to his first round 68, all three players completing both their first and second rounds on Friday.
For Hanson, who defeated fellow countryman Peter Gustafsson to win at the San Roque Club last Sunday, there was particular delight, especially with the finish to his afternoon round which saw him birdie the sixth, seventh and eighth holes with putts ranging in length from 15 to two feet.
“I feel very good about my game at the moment,” said the Swede. “I am striking the ball very nicely and am just trying to keep my momentum going and keep my focus on this tournament and not think too much about what I did in Spain.
“I had a couple of beers to celebrate in the evening after the victory but we got home at one in the morning and then I had a flight down here so I couldn’t go too mad!
“But I am really pleased with the way I played today, especially in the afternoon. I had a decent 70 in the morning but didn’t play that great to be honest, but in the afternoon it was different. It is a pretty open course and you are going to hit a lot of greens but you still have to make a lot of putts to get it to nine or ten under.”
First to join Hansen on the 135 mark was Campbell – winner of the event in 2000 - who admitted he was relishing a return to form, a point conclusively proved by the eight birdies in his afternoon 65.
“After my start to this season it is nice to come back after a month off and play this well,” he said. “I made a few changes to my structure and have been working full-time with my coach this year. Last couple of years it has been difficult to see him because he has got other jobs in hand – so I decided at the end of last year to go full-time with him.”
Next to move to the top was another former champion, the 2002 winner Goosen, who included six birdies in his 67, the only blemish on his otherwise immaculate card coming when he three putted the short 17th from 40 feet.
“I’m happy to finish on nine under and hopefully by tomorrow (when Adam Scott completes his second round) I won’t be more than about four shots behind,” he said. “It was a tricky day today because the wind was variable, sometimes it was blowing into you and sometimes it was blowing down.
“The towards the last three holes, the wind came from a totally different direction than it had been doing earlier in the week. But I am happy to be where I am and we have two rounds to go – I’m looking forward to them.”
The fourth man on nine under par, albeit after only one round - Scott - put his experience of weather-interrupted golf tournaments to good use to help him move into contention.
The 24 year old Australian – who won the Nissan Open on the US PGA Tour in February after it had been reduced to 36 holes – finished a superb course record nine under par 63 on Friday morning after managing only three hours play on Thursday before severe winds caused an abandonment of the day’s play in the middle of the morning.
Scott led the tournament – tri sanctioned by The European, Australasian and Asian Tours - at that time on three under par after ten holes, but completed the final eight holes of his round – played in idyllic windless conditions – in sensational fashion, being six under par for the stretch.
“I was up pretty early, about 4.30am, and I’m going to go back to bed now,” said Scott. “But it is pretty much standard practice for me nowadays because seven of my last eight events have featured a full day weather delay. So I’m getting used to it.
“It was such a shame yesterday. The weather was fine but it was just too windy. The greens were quick, everything was perfect but there was just too much wind. Today was totally different and I got off to a good start and finished well – it just felt like things were going my way.”
Scott began at the second hole with a two putt birdie four and immediately followed that with another birdie three at the third where he holed from four feet. But it was his final three holes of the day - the seventh, eighth and ninth – that he really sparkled.
A precise sand wedge approach at the seventh yielded a birdie three while a stunning four iron second at the par five eighth to within inches of the hole saw him notch an eagle three. Not to be outdone, he birdied the ninth as well, pitching in from 20 feet.
The nearest player to the leading group to finish his second round was Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie, who added a 70 to his opening 68 for a six under par total of 138, to be three off the pace.
In total, 36 players will return at 6.30am on Saturday morning to complete their second rounds while the 76, who never began their second rounds on Friday, will start at 6.45am. Once the second round is complete and the redraw made, the third round is hoped to start early on Saturday afternoon.
