Bryce Molder birdied four of the last seven holes en route to a six-under par 66 on Friday, seizing a one-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the Houston Open.
Molder had a nine-under total of 135, one shot in front of first-round co-leader Cameron Percy of Australia and fellow US tour rookie Alex Prugh. Percy carded a 69 and Prugh posted a 66.
England’s world No. 4 Lee Westwood shot a 68 and headed a group on 137 that also included Anthony Kim (69), Joe Ogilvie (67) and Kevin Stadler (70).
South African Ernie Els, Fred Couples and Phil Mickelson made the cut, but were far off the pace after failing to break par in the second round of the event that is the last tuneup for next week’s Masters at Augusta National.
Els carded a 74 and Couples a 73 to stand at even par through 36 holes.
Mickelson carded a 76 on another blustery day on the Tournament Course at Redstone and was one-over.
Els is seeking his third victory in as many starts while Couples, 50, has won three straight starts on the Champions Tour.
Houston Open organizers lured big names to the event by doing their best to simulate Masters conditions.
However, the warm-up fell short for several — with Australian Geof Ogilvy and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy among those missing the cut.
Lucas Glover’s second-round 68 included the first hole-in-one in the course’s five-year tour history. Glover hit a six-iron on the 199 yard 16th hole.
Molder, who is without a victory in 88 career starts, made short birdie putts on 12 and 13, then chipped in on the par-five 15th.
He took the outright lead on 17 when he drained a 33-foot putt.
The 31-year-old has never played in the Masters, and said the possibility of playing his way into the year’s first major was on his mind along with the thought of a possible first win.
“Once you’re out there and over the ball, you’re not really thinking, ‘Well, maybe this is what could or could not get me in next week,’” Molder said. “If you ask me that Sunday afternoon and I’ve got a two-shot lead walking down the last hole, maybe so. But I haven’t won on the PGA Tour. When I win out here, first and foremost, it’s going to be exciting.”
Percy and Prugh, both US tour rookies, are in search of their first victories.
Hong Kong-based cricket team Hung See this weekend found success in their matches in Taiwan, even if none of the results went their way. Hung See played the Chairman’s XI on Saturday morning, the Daredevils that afternoon and PCCT yesterday, with all three home teams winning. The team for Chinese players at the Happy Valley-based Craigengower Cricket Club sends teams on tour to “spread the game of cricket.” This weekend was Hung See’s second trip to Taiwan after visiting Tainan in 2016. “The club has been traveling to all parts of the world since 1982 and the annual tradition continues [with the Taiwan
Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Coco Gauff’s dreams of a first women’s singles title in Melbourne were crushed in the quarter-finals by Paula Badosa. World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was ruffled by a stray feather in his men’s singles quarter-final, but he refocused to beat 12th seed Tommy Paul and reach the semi-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 in 2 hours, 20 minutes to advance the semi-finals. Hsieh and Ostapenko converted eight of 14 break
The San Francisco Giants signed 18-year-old Taiwanese pitcher Yang Nien-hsi (陽念希) to a contract worth a total of US$500,000 (NT $16.39 million). At a press event in Taipei on Wednesday, Jan. 22, the Giants’ Pacific Rim Area scout Evan Hsueh (薛奕煌) presented Yang with a Giants jersey to celebrate the signing. The deal consisted of a contract worth US$450,000 plus a US$50,000 scholarship bonus. Yang, who stands at 188 centimeters tall and weighs 85 kilograms, is of Indigenous Amis descent. With his fastest pitch clocking in at 150 kilometers per hour, Yang had been on Hsueh’s radar since playing in the HuaNan Cup
HARD TO SAY GOODBYE: After Coco Gauff dispatched Belinda Bencic in the fourth round, she wrote ‘RIP TikTok USA’ and drew a broken heart on a television camera lens Defending champion Hsieh Su-wei of Taiwan yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while compatriot Chan Hao-ching on Saturday dominated her opponents in the second round, as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka swept into the quarter-finals. Third seeds Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia toppled Hungary’s Timea Babos and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US 6-4, 6-3, hitting 24 winners and converting three of seven break points in 1 hour, 18 minutes at 1573 Arena. Although rivals at last year’s Australian Open — where Hsieh and Belgium’s Elise Mertens beat Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok 6-1, 7-5
RSS