When he is in the groove, it is often said that it might need an act of God to stop him and that was exactly what happened to Henrik Stenson in the second round of the BMW Asian Open. Leading by one shot and over a ten foot putt for birdie on the 18th green, the Swede was forced to abandon play for the day by gathering thunder and lightning storms.
Stenson is one of 42 players who will have to return to the Tomson Shanghai Pudong Golf Club on Saturday morning at 8.00am to complete their second rounds before the draw for the third round is undertaken, with play expected to begin in that, in three balls, at approximately 10.30am.
Stenson began the day at five under par after his opening 67 and was still leading on that figure when the elements intervened, giving some indication of how hard the conditions proved to be in the co-sanctioned event between The European Tour and the Asian Tour. Nearest challenger is Scotland’s Paul Lawrie, who did manage to complete his two rounds on four under par 140.
Level par to the turn, Stenson slipped one over par for his round when he overshot the green at the tenth but he retrieved matters with a two putt birdie at the 13th to regain his spot at the top of the leaderboard. He stayed on that score until the klaxon horn sounded as he marked his ball on the 18th green.
“I don’t know if it is good or bad to have that one left,” he admitted. “At least we should have good greens and less wind in the morning so hopefully it might be easier but you can never tell. It is kind of hard to prepare for just the one putt but whatever comes out of it, comes out of it, and we then can go out and have a good third round.”
Leading the chase when play was stopped was Lawrie and one glance at the list of the venues for his previous European Tour victories – Scotland, Wales, Qatar – and it is easy to see why he was comfortable in the wind. He proved that point again conclusively in the Shanghai swirls to post his second consecutive 70.
“It was tough and the greens were firm but that is nice, that’s the way golf should be played, you are having to hit good shots to get it close to the pin,” said the 37 year old. “It is proper golf as opposed to them being wet and being able to stop a five iron on the greens. It’s the purest form of golf I suppose.
“I played solid last week but didn’t really hole many putts but then on the last day I putted a bit better and played really good (he shot a best of day 67).
“But I am getting there. It has been a while and I have been getting better slowly. Last week was a top ten which is always what you are trying to aim for. So again this week, if I can get in there and give myself a chance, then why not?”
Certainly if Lawrie can post two more under par rounds over the weekend he will be a hard man to catch, although with all the heavy rain which has fallen, the greens will be a little more receptive come Saturday’s third round.
The Scot, whose last European Tour International Schedule win came in The Celtic Manor Wales Open in 2002, had four birdies in total – including two in his last three holes, the seventh and the ninth – which more than made up for the dropped shots at the fifth and 14th, caused by respective trips into the water and a waste bunker.
It proved a productive day for the Lawrie clan in general with Paul’s namesake, if not fellow countryman, Peter, finishing one shot adrift of him, the Irishman tied on three under par 141 with Portugal’s José-Filipe Lima, Danny Chia of Malaysia and Frankie Minoza of the Phillipines.
Lawrie, the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year on The European Tour, could not quite match the heights of his opening 69 but a battling level par 72 nevertheless pleased the Dubliner.
“Today was a tough day,” he said. It was very cold this morning and then the wind got up and it was very hard to get close to some of the flags even though the greens were superb. I played nicely and 72, I have to be happy with that.”
Another man happy was Lima, who has dropped only one shot in his opening 36 holes, and who added a second round 70 to his first round 71. “It is very hard here and you have to concentrate on getting the drive in the middle of the fairway and then your second shot on the green,” he said. “If you two putt for par, then fine, if you make the birdie putt, then it is a bonus. But par is always a good score here on a lot of the holes, especially if the wind gets up.
“Last week my game was really solid and I have carried that on. I actually thought my overall game was better today, and my chipping around the greens was particularly good. Every time I missed the green I managed to get my chip shot close. So everything is good and I am feeling positive about the weekend.”
Further down the leaderboard, another player still to finish their second round is Colin Montgomerie, who had a disappointing end to day when he bogeyed the 16th and 17th holes. The 42 year old Scot had just played his second shot on the 18th hole when the klaxon sounded.
