England’s Ian Poulter, last season's Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, moved two shots clear of the field at the halfway stage of the Moroccan Open with a six under par 67 over the magnificent Royal Golf Dar Es Salam course in Rabat.
Poulter lies on eight under par 138, two strokes clear of American Craig Hainline, as he attempts to go one better than his joint second place finish in this event last year.
“One better than last year would be fine,” said Poulter, who claimed his maiden title by winning the 2000 Italian Open. “That would be acceptable. You have got to look at your results from last year and you want to go better. This is one where if I go one better it would be a fantastic result.”
Poulter arrived in Morocco suffering from tonsillitis but decided to carry on while taking a course of antibiotics. The 25 year old then made the perfect start to his second round with four threes in his opening four holes to move to five under par for the tournament.
Another birdie three on the seventh where he holed from seven feet paved the way for an outward half of 32 before picking up two more birdies by holing eight foot putts coming home to complete a 67. Indeed Poulter took only 22 putts, including 14 single putts, to move to the head of the leaderboard.
He added: “On the range this morning it felt good. Every iron I pulled out of the bag on the range was going good and straight and the driver was doing the same as well. I took that out on the course for the first few holes. You have to find the right part of the greens but hitting the fairways is the main thing out there.”
Hainline continued to mount a strong challenge as he tries to regain his European Tour card after slipping to 124th in the Volvo Order of Merit last season, adding a one under par 72 to his opening 68 to lie on six under par. Hainline twice finished joint fifth in 1998 but struggled to find his form last season and now needs something special to get back on Tour.
"I had a lot of 20 to 25 footers out there but didn’t give myself enough chances,” he said. I hit a lot more greens yesterday than today. I must try not to get caught up in the leaderboard. It’s just good to get in position. You never know what might happen.”
A further shot off the pace at five under par are Swede Robert Karlsson and Frenchman Thomas Levet, both of whom have finished second in this event. Karlsson was pipped by David Gilford at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in 1992 and also finished runner-up in the Hassan II Trophy behind Martin Gates on this course while Levet was joint second alongside Poulter last year when Jamie Spence triumphed at Marrakech.
Karlsson has not played for four weeks but despite a bit of rust in his gamepicked up four birdies, including a hat-trick from the turn on his way to a two under par 71.
“Messy,” he said. “I drove the ball badly. Only hit four fairways. But it’s nice to be in it. That’s what you are here for.”
Levet has probably played this course more than anyone in the field having first come to Rabat as an amateur in the mid 1980’s. With over a hundred rounds behind him the course holds few surprises for the 1998 Cannes Open champion. The highlight of his round was an eagle three on the 12th where he holed from 20 feet.
Among the group of eight players on four under par is Switzerland’s Paulo Quirici who held a comfortable lead with three holes to play but slipped up with two double bogeys in his last three holes. 1998 US Amateur champion Hank Kuehne is also in four under as are the Irish pair of Paul McGinley and Philip Walton.
Nick Dougherty, the 18 year old amateur protégé of six time major winner Nick Faldo made his first cut in a professional event after a four under par 69 took him to one under par for the tournament. In total 85 players, including two amateurs survived the halfway cut, the highest number so far this season.
