EUROPEAN TOUR:ENGLAND'S GARY Boyd shared the halfway lead in the Volvo China Open with Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Gonnet as he seeks a first win on the PGA European Tour.
The 25-year-old shot a five-under-par 67 at Binhai Lake GC, Tianjin, to follow up his opening 66 and move to 11 under. That total was matched by Gonnet, who was also five under yesterday after six birdies and a solitary bogey at the 13th hole.
Boyd, meanwhile, started at the 10th but had a disappointing start when he failed to replicate yesterday’s eagle at the 12th and dropped a shot on this occasion.
It would be his only blemish on the day, though, as he gained the shot back at the 18th and then carded five birdies on the front nine. His stand-out shot came at the fourth, when a superb approach out of the rough left him with a tap-in for a birdie three.
South Africa’s Branden Grace lies third on his own, one shot behind the leading pair after a bogey-free 67, including an eagle two at the seventh. A 67 left Nicolas Colsaerts on his own at nine under. The Belgian eagled the second and added five birdies and two bogeys on his five-under-par card.
Korean Choi Jin-ho also joined the trend for 67s yesterday to finish at eight under, level with Australian Marcus Fraser and Spain’s Ignacio Garrido, who both made three-under 69s. A large group follow at seven under, including England’s Danny Willetts and Oliver Wilson.
Damien McGrane remains the leading Irish player in the field but the Meath man was only able to pick up one shot and is five off the pace on six under. Peter Lawrie is two shots further back alongside Shane Lowry, one ahead of Gareth Maybin.
Michael Hoey and Ian Poulter were among a host of players right on the line but the likes of Marcel Siem, Simon Khan and Ross Fisher missed out by one shot at one under.
Chinese teenager Guan Tian-lang, the youngest player ever to play on the European Tour aged just 13, found the going tough as he carded 79.
He did, however, manage birdies at the 18th and seventh, though, and his final 12-over-par total left him ahead of his more experienced compatriots Deng Le-jun, Zhang Yi-ming and Alexander Chen as well as Scotland’s Marc Warren.
Meanwhile, world number three Lee Westwood battled heat and humidity before shooting a blemish-free second round four-under-par 68 in the Indonesian Masters yesterday.
The overnight leader birdied the 18th hole to snap a string of eight pars and picked up three more shots for a two-day total of 11-under 133 before play was temporarily suspended because of lightning at the Royale Jakarta Golf Club.
“It was very hot and humid early on and I suffered with that a little bit,” said Westwood.
“It is just one of those things where it can be so hot that you can’t replenish the fluids. That’s Asia for you. Im going to have to fluid up this afternoon,” added the Englishman.
Australian Kieran Pratt was five shots adrift, returning a sparkling 65 after a poor opening round of 73.
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