The European Tour seldom visits courses where the par is a generous 69, but when it does happen – as in this week at The Celtic Manor Resort – the results can be spectacular. A deluge of low scores were racked up in the second round of The Celtic Manor Wales Open as the leaderboards became a sea of red figures denoting sub-par numbers.
Amid the glut of 61, 62s and 63s – following on from Phillip Archer’s remarkable 60 on Thursday – Robert Karlsson stood head and shoulders above the field in every sense.
At 6ft 5in, the Swede is the tallest professional on The European Tour and he employed his substantial frame to fine effect in propelling the golf ball huge distances over the
Karlsson tagged a six under par 63 onto his opening 61 for a halfway total of 124, 14 under par. Strictly in numeric terms, that beats the previous record for rounds one and two of 125 set by the little known Frankie Minoza and the slightly more familiar name of Tiger Woods.
However, in relation to par after 36 holes, Minoza was 17 under in the
“Of course I realise there are lower scores to par than mine, but it’s always nice to have that number under my belt” said the happy Swede, who leads by four strokes from a trio of players in Archer, Paul Broadhurst and Simon Dyson on 128, ten under par.
Lurking just behind the three Englishmen is the large and menacing figure of
It is four years since Karlsson claimed the last of his five European Tour titles and, he admits, that his putting has been the reason for some distinctly mixed performances since he won the Omega European Masters title in
“My putting has been holding me back” he said. “Last year I played well for long periods but my putting was terrible. I have worked very hard on the mental side and really, really tried to enjoy it out there. It’s easy to say I am taking one shot at a time but I am pulling it off
“I used to get hot under the collar and I am working to improve that. This is my sixth week in a row and in the past I could never do that. I couldn’t stand it. I was too tough on myself and mentally became exhausted.”
Archer, who came tantalisingly close to immortality on Thursday when he was seven feet away from a 59, only to see his birdie putt lip out, produced a strong comeback to finish in a tie for second place.
As often happens after such a low score, the following day brings different challenges. Archer was two over par after five holes and seemingly heading into reverse gear, but steadied the tiller and found his confidence again, covering the next 13 holes in three under par for a 68.
The Englishman was slightly perplexed at the reaction to his round of 60, which he viewed as something to cherish rather than a failure. He said: “When it had all sunk in, I tried to take the positives out of shooting 60. But after seeing a few of the headlines, you’d have thought I’d died or something! It was a bit strange to tell the truth.”
Dyson fired a second round of 62 to move to ten under par while Broadhurst – quietly closing in on a Ryder Cup berth in his 41st year – compiled a steady 64 to join Archer and Dyson on the same mark.
Montgomerie, who birdied four holes in a row from the second, added another at the seventh to close within a shot of Karlsson, who birdied five in a row from the third. However the picture changed dramatically when the Scot bogeyed the eighth and Karlsson birdied the ninth to create a three shot gap at the top.
Asked to sum up his day, Montgomerie paused before saying: “Disappointing. Very disappointing. Generally, my game is a lot better but when you are five under par after seven holes you should go forward. I went very much backwards into the pack again. I will try to start well tomorrow and see how we go.”
