Big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts fired a superb eight-under 64 yesterday to take a one-shot lead after the second round of the BMW Masters in Shanghai.
Colsaerts used his booming length to great effect, grabbing four of the nine birdies on his card at each of the par-fives on the rain-softened Lake Malaren layout.
Colsaerts lead by one shot from France’s long-hitter Alexander Levy, with compatriot Romain Wattel — no slouch off the tee himself — a further shot back.
Photo: AFP
The 2012 Ryder Cup winner has enjoyed a resurgence in form of late, shooting a rare round of 60 at the Portugal Masters three weeks ago, and only last month he destroyed the European Tour’s all-time long-driving record with a monstrous 447-yard blast at Celtic Manor in the Wales Open.
Colsaerts also blasted three birdies and an eagle on the par-fives in his opening round 66 on Thursday.
He acknowledged that the soft course and heavy conditions were playing into the hands of the men with the big guns off the tee.
“We spoke about this yesterday,” Colsaerts said after his round. “Some guys in the mornings had four-irons into the 10th and I hit a gap wedge. I think the condition of the golf course and the way the air is here makes a big difference. It will definitely suit long hitters, without a doubt.”
Ryder Cup star and last year’s US Open winner Justin Rose enjoyed one of the rounds of the day with a seven-under 65, but found himself seven off the lead going into the weekend.
“Put it this way, I don’t think Nicolas is going to come back to us,” Rose said. “I think I need another two low rounds to have a chance to win.”
One of the few shorter men off the tee to stand tall on the leaderboard was Northern Ireland’s 2010 US Open winner Graeme McDowell.
He is six back from Colsaerts after a three-under 69 left him decently placed at eight-under for the tournament.
“There’s a not a lot of short hitters on the leaderboard,” McDowell said. “Colsaerts moves it, Levy moves it, Wattel moves it, but there’s more to it than that. The soft conditions mean any iron is going to stop coming into these surfaces.”
Thomas Bjorn, fought back from four-over for the day after just three holes to record a five-under 67.
The Dane missed a short par-putt on the first and then took a disastrous triple-bogey eight at the third, but he repaired the damage in commanding style, with five consecutive birdies from the seventh hole and nine in all.
“You have days like that when, all of a sudden, it starts going your way. I’d like to play the first three again,” Bjorn said.
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