England’s Ian Poulter battled a stomach bug, but held on to a two-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Australian Masters at the Victoria Golf Club yesterday.
Poulter added 68 to his opening 65 to be nine-under after 36 holes, two shots clear of local golfer Matt Giles.
Poulter was happy just to get through the round without being physically ill.
Photo: Reuters
“I woke up this morning and wasn’t feeling too good. I don’t know if it was something I ate,” he said.
“I was struggling out there this morning even before I got to the range. I would have taken 68 before I set off today. I just got a bug and hopefully I’m through it, so I can come out strong tomorrow [today],” he added.
“It was ugly, very ugly,” Poulter said of his round.
Photo: EPA
“I hit a few poor tee shots and second shots, but I managed to recover really well and get myself out of trouble. That’s what you’ve got to do if you miss greens around this golf course,” he said.
The Englishman was delighted to finish the round by holing two birdie putts.
Poulter has made no secret of the fact he wants to collect as many world ranking points in his season-ending tournament.
There is a premium attached to this week in terms of ranking points, with world No. 1 Luke Donald in this week’s field.
Donald is conceding Poulter a six-shot break with 36 holes to play.
The Australian Masters may pale beside Donald’s history-making achievements this year, but he is nothing if not a proud man.
After successive birdies, momentum was with him walking to the eighth tee — a testing 443m par-four.
However, his tee shot caught a bunker on the left-hand side of the fairway.
Faced with a shot of about 160m to the edge of the green, he went with an eight iron over the lip.
“I thought I hit a pretty good shot, but it missed clearing the lip by six or eight inches and got embedded in the bank,” Donald said.
Forced to take a penalty drop, he ended up signing for a six.
“It was a little bit of a momentum killer,” he said.
Donald battled on manfully and signed for a second-round 70 to be three-under for the championship.
Donald remains confident he can bridge the gap with Poulter over the weekend.
“I’m still in a decent position. Ian looks like he’s playing quite well. I just need to get the putter going,” he said.
Donald played behind Poulter yesterday and said he saw him hit a few loose shots.
“But he’s good at scrapping around when he has to and that is always the mark of a good player,” Donald said.
“It’s a little bit frustrating, to be quite honest. I played a lot better today than I did the first day. I just did not get a lot out of it. I hit a lot of good shots today. I’ve just been struggling on the greens. I’m finding it hard to pick the line and I’m missing my chances,” said the man who created history by winning this year’s European as well as USPGA money lists.
“I’ve still got a good chance and I’m looking forward to the weekend,” he added.
Defending champion Stuart Appleby was forced to withdraw yesterday with a back injury.
THAILAND CHAMPIONSHIP
AFP, BANGKOK
Lee Westwood opened up a massive 14-stroke lead — his biggest ever — at the US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship yesterday, finishing the second round on 20-under-par.
The English world No. 3 followed up his stunning opening day 60 on the par-72 Amata Spring Country Club course with another impressive 8-under 64 to leave the rest of the field reeling in his wake.
His score matches the 36-hole Asian Tour record held by Chapchai Nirat of Thailand.
Westwood raced away from closest challenger John Daly, who could only manage a 73 in yesterday’s windier conditions.
Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and the US’ Michael Thompson, who were among the late starters, were also moving up the leaderboard to challenge for second place.
Westwood admitted it was a “strange feeling” being so far ahead of the field.
“It’s the biggest lead that I’ve ever had. It’s outrageous,” he said.
He added that conditions in the second round were more difficult than the first day.
“There was quite a strong breeze and 64 is a really good score. I’m delighted with the two days’ work,” he said.
Despite his huge lead, Westwood was not getting carried away.
“I just want to carry on the way I’m playing. I am really looking forward to the weekend,” he said.
After his round, Westwood headed for the gym.
“One reason I’m playing well is because I am much fitter,” he said.
Daly was disappointed with his round after a promising opening day of 65.
“I just didn’t make any putts,” he said. “It’s frustrating when you are hitting it good, but not sinking those putts.”
He accepts that he has no chance of winning the tournament.
“Playing for second is all I can do. No one is going to catch him [Westwood],” he said.
There was disappointment for local fans when Thailand’s top player, Thongchai Jaidee, pulled out on the 13th hole with a painful back injury.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care