Garcia and Norman Lead the Way in Sydney

It might not be the way most people celebrate their big day but Greg Norman will spend his 46th birthday on Saturday attempting to topple Sergio Garcia from the head of the leaderboard in his own tournament at The Lakes in Sydney.

The 21 year old Spaniard maintained the pole position he held after his opening 64 in the Greg Norman Holden International with a second round 69 for a 13 under par total of 133. It left Garcia one stroke ahead of Norman, who carded a 68 for 134 and two clear of young Australian Aaron Baddeley and Welshman Phillip Price.

After going without a victory since winning this very tournament three years ago, Norman was happy to once again be back in contention especially after a tricky patch midway through his second round that saw the double Open champion card a double bogey six at the fourth and a bogey five at the sixth.

“I’m in the hunt and hopefully it’s like riding a bike, you get yourself back into contention and you stay in there,” said Norman. “I hit a lot of good quality shots today compared to yesterday and I started to get some pretty good timing with my putter. So if that works for the next two days I’ll be happy.”

"After the mistakes at four and six, my concentration really got up and that meant a lot to me. I felt that all my work was starting to pay off in certain regards. I am very keen and playing with Sergio should make it a great day.”

The recovery manifested itself in a flawless back nine of 33 which included birdies at the 11th, 13th, 14th and 17th to see Norman move into second place and right onto the heels of Garcia, who continued to impress in his first outing of the season on the European Tour International Schedule.

Indeed the Spaniard could have taken a bigger lead into the weekend were it not for a disappointing ending to his 69. Five under par for his round and 14 under par for the tournament through 15 holes, Garcia three putted the 16th for a bogey five and repeated the mistake on the 494 yard 17th to walk off with a mere par five.

“I’m just a little disappointed with my finish, he admitted. “I shot 69 which I think is a pretty good round but I still made three, three putts in total so it could have been a lot better. But that’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Asked if he would present Norman with a greetings card before their third round appointment, Garcia revealed he had another surprise planned for the Australian. “Maybe I’ll give him a birthday kiss on the first tee,” he joked.

Getting back to the golf, Garcia admitted he had had to work hard to maintain his position at the head of affairs. “It was not easy out there because the wind picked up and with the wind, this course is tough,” he said.

Closest challengers Baddeley and Price also had profitable days in the Antipodean sunshine, the young Australian eagling both the eighth and 14th holes on his way to 68 while Price had five birdies in total in his 69.

Baddeley stunned the world of golf when he won the 1999 Holden Australian Open as an amateur before defending the title the following year as a professional, and the confidence he exhibited then remained as high when quizzed about his chances over the next couple of days.

“Hopefully I'll be right in there on Sunday afternoon,” said the 19 year old. “I'm looking forward to it and I'm not trying to win to spite anyone - I just want to win. I have to keep playing well, just keep hitting good shots and keep putting well. That is the key.

“I had a dodgy patch today from the third through to the fifth. I holed a couple of good par putts and got up and down from 105 yards on two holes so I saved it pretty well out there. I just tried to stay patient.”

Price, the 34-year-old from Pontypridd who last year had easily his most successful season on tour, went to the turn in 32 to get in on the act and after a six at the long 11th failed to birdie either the 14th or 17th, both reachable par fives.

But a birdie two at the 195 yard 18th made his dinner taste a little bit better. "It's nice to be up there because it was getting tough in the wind towards the end,” said the Welshman who finished eighth on the 2000 Volvo Order of Merit.

Behind the leading four in a group of three players on 136 is Sweden’s Pierre Fulke, current leader of the Volvo Order of Merit, who added a 71 to his opening 65 while Australian Adam Scott, who carded the course record 63 in last year’s second round, is in a further group of three players on 137 after his second round 67.

Elsewhere, defending champion Lucas Parsons got back in the hunt after his disappointing opening 74 with an excellent 65 to move to seven under par for the tournament, but it was not good news for Michael Campbell and Nick Faldo, both of whom missed the cut.

New Zealander Campbell, who successfully defended his Heineken Classic title at The Vines in Perth last weekend, carded a second round 71 for 145, one stroke too many, while Faldo’s 73 for 149 saw him finish five shots off the mark.