Ian Woosnam shot his lowest round in almost 18 months to leap to the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the Linde German Masters.
Woosnam's eight under par 64, his lowest return since the 2001 Dubai Desert Classic, took him to 12 under par 132, one clear of the English pair of Warren Bennett and Nick Dougherty and Australian Stephen Leaney.
Woosnam covered his first nine holes, the back nine at Gut Larchenhof, in just 30 strokes, and when he birdied the first and third as well to move to eight under for the round he had the course record of 63 well within his sights. But his charge faltered when he missed a two foot par putt on the fifth after finding the right hand bunker and despite birdieing the par three eighth finished one stroke outside the course record.
“In the morning the greens are much smoother and there is hardly any wind and the course is playing at its easiest,” said Woosnam. “So the course is there for the taking and you just have to go out and do it. I holed a lot of good putts today which makes a difference.
“It was possibly the best round I have played since winning the Cisco World Match Play. I am not hitting particularly long of the tee but I am hitting it straight and it is important to hit the fairway here. The rough is so thick and tough you can’t go anywhere out of it.”
Bennett also benefited from the benign morning conditions, reaching the turn in 34 despite a double bogey six on the fifth hole. Another dropped shot followed on the tenth, but the 31 year old charged up the leaderboard with five birdies in his last six holes to complete a round of 66.
Leaney, who was joint second at the halfway stage in this event 12 months ago, followed his opening 64 with a three under par 69, the putts refusing to drop despite hitting 17 greens in regulation.
“I actually played better than yesterday,” said Leaney. “I hit 17 greens today and yesterday hit 16. I had the same amount of chances just didn’t make anything. But I can’t complain and the ball striking is good.”
Dougherty eagled both of the par fives on the back nine to come home in 32 for a seven under par 65 to lie just one shot off the pace as he chases his maiden title in his rookie season.
“I got off to a good start with birdies on the sixth, seventh and eighth which are not easy birdie holes,” he said. “The two eagles on the back nine were a bonus.”
Mark Pilkington added a three under par 69 to his opening 65 to lie just two shots off the pace as he chases his maiden European Tour triumph.
There was also good news for many of the European Ryder Cup players in the field with Padraig Harrington leading the way on nine under par 135 after a six under par 66. The Irishman has struggled with various injuries over the past few weeks and strained the right side of his neck on the range last night but shrugged off any discomfort to record eight birdies with just the two dropped shots.
Playing partner Colin Montgomerie also shot what he described as “a very comfortable” 66 to move to seven under par alongside Thomas Björn who shot a 70 and Lee Westwood, whose 67 represented his best round of the year and a strong indication his form is returning.
“The last two days have been the best ball striking of the year,” said Westwood. “I have looked at the flags more often rather than looking away at the fat part of the green. Today and yesterday are probably the first time I have hit the ball like I did on 2000.”
Defending champion Bernhard Langer, aiming to win his 12th title on home soil was just one stroke further back while Niclas Fasth, Pierre Fulke and Paul McGinley all returned sub-par scores to comfortably make the cut. Only Phillip Price of the Ryder Cup players in the field missed the cut, his level par total two strokes too many to make the weekend.
