Saturday 27 May 2017 21:13, UK
Scott Jamieson recovered from a horrendous start with a remarkable run of birdies as he earned a share of the halfway lead with Thomas Pieters and Francesco Molinari at the BMW PGA Championship.
Jamieson had opened with a flawless five-under 67, but it was a different story on day two as he bogeyed the first and then double-bogeyed the third, although a superb run of six birdies in seven holes around the turn lifted him into the outright lead.
The Scot dropped another shot at the 15th and was unable to birdie the two par-five finishing holes, but his battling 70 was enough to end the day alongside Pieters and Molinari, and the leading trio have a one-shot advantage over Max Kieffer with Lee Westwood and Henrik Stenson just two off the pace.
Justin Rose atoned for an inconsistent round with an eagle at the last to ensure he made the cut on two over, the same score as defending champion Chris Wood after both Englishmen shot disappointing 74s.
Ryder Cup star Pieters put together a solid four-birdie 69 to set the early clubhouse target just as the swirling breezes picked up for the later starters, but that didn't stop Jamieson following birdies at the sixth and seventh with four in a row from the ninth.
Molinari also did well to combat the conditions and, after claiming a share of the lead with his third birdie of the day at the long 17th, he gave himself a great chance for eagle at the last when he hit a sublime high fade with a two-iron to within 10 feet of the pin.
But the Italian left the putt agonisingly short and had to settle for a 70, while Kieffer produced a dazzling charge up the leaderboard on the back nine as he, like Jamieson, fought back well from an uncertain start.
The German bogeyed the first two holes to slip to level par for the tournament, but he restored parity for the round with birdies at six and eight and he followed another at the 11th with an eagle at 12 before picking up further gains at the next two holes.
Kieffer joined the long list of players who blotted their cards at the 15th, but he parred in to card a 68 which earned him outright fourth ahead of Westwood, Stenson, 2015 champion Byeong Hun An and Branden Grace.
Westwood was a model of consistency for the second day running and was four under for the day with four to play, but he dropped his only shot of the round at the 15th and parred in for a 69, while Stenson birdied the last to salvage a 71 after another frustrating day on the greens.
Grace admitted he was "distracted" by the fall-out from his controversial free-drop in a bunker at the 13th on Thursday, but the South African still managed to grind out a 71 while An is well placed to contend for a second win in three years after a 69 lifted him into the top 10.
Overnight leader Johann Carlsson remained in the hunt despite making four bogeys on the front nine, but he birdied 14 and 15 and, after a bogey at 17, he came within inches of holing his third to the last and tapped in for a 73.
Andrew "Beef" Johnston also made a good move in the right direction as he fired a five-birdie 68 to jump to three under along with compatriots Tyrrell Hatton (72) and long-time Wentworth member Ross Fisher (73).
Ian Poulter birdied the 10th and eagled the 12th but missed a series of further chances in a blemish-free 69 that got him safely in for the weekend on one over, although he spent time on the practice green afterwards having described his putting as "absolutely shocking".
Rose looked likely to miss the cut when he slumped to four over par following a quadruple-bogey eight at the sixth, where he shanked his second shot out of bounds from a fairway bunker.
He needed at least a birdie on the final hole to have a chance of making the halfway cut, but he went one better as he converted a stunning second to 10 feet for a closing eagle and a round of 74.
