Thorbjorn Olesen stays on course for Ryder Cup place at Nordea Masters
Saturday 18 August 2018 19:51, UK
Thorbjorn Olesen maintained his push for a Ryder Cup debut as Scott Jamieson and Paul Waring shared the halfway lead at the Nordea Masters.
Jamieson birdied the last three holes to cap a 65 he described as "a little Kamikaze at times", but he had done enough to claim the clubhouse lead at 11 under and he was later joined by Waring after the Englishman carded a best-of-the-day 63 in Gothenburg.
Olesen's 66 moved him to six under and into a share of seventh, and if the Dane stays in that position on Sunday he would replace Ian Poulter in the top eight automatic qualifiers for Thomas Bjorn's European Ryder Cup team.
Martin Kaymer is alongside Olesen after matching his first-round 67, although the German conceded he did not deserve a fifth consecutive Ryder Cup appearance even if he lifted the title this weekend.
But next month's showdown at Le Golf National will not be on the minds of Jamieson and Waring as they battle to save their European Tour cards, with both needing strong finishes to the season to break into the top 110 on the Race to Dubai.
Jamieson hit back from an early bogey with three birdies in four holes from the sixth taking him to the turn in 34, and he picked up another shot at the 12th with a superb up-and-down from a tricky lie at the driveable par-four.
The Scot gave another shot back at the 14th, but birdies at 16, 17 and 18 lifted him clear of the field until he was joined by Waring, who cruised to the turn in 32 and holed a number of big putts on the back nine as he birdied four of the last seven holes.
"Obviously I'm made up to be as high up the leaderboard as I am," said Waring. "I felt like I took a few of my chances out there, which was nice. There were a couple of loose shots, but that's golf and they weren't too costly, so all in all a good day.
Live European Tour Golf
"I started on the back nine yesterday and I felt like I gave myself a lot of chances early. I birdied the second today and it just got me into a nice bit of momentum. It was a bit like yesterday, I found myself in a good flow with good momentum."
The leading pair have a two-stroke lead over South African Thomas Aiken, who carded six birdies but dropped his only shot on his final hole of the day to return a 65.
English veteran Lee Slattery added a 69 to his opening 64 to join Bradley Neil on seven under, with Olesen and Kaymer a further shot off the pace heading into the weekend.
Olesen started on the 10th and, after a birdie at 12, he reeled off four in a row to complete a back-nine 29 before losing his way on the outward half, offsetting a bogey at the first with a birdie at the long third before finding trouble at the long eighth and running up a scrappy six.
Kaymer's 67 featured seven birdies and four bogeys on a colourful card, and he told Sky Sports afterwards that he did not feel he would be worthy of a place in the Ryder Cup following a disappointing season in which he has missed the cut seven times in his last 11 starts.
Asked if a win on Sunday would attract the attention of Bjorn, Kaymer said: "Do you think I deserve to be on the game after the way I've been playing, and with just one win in Sweden? Is that enough? I don't think so."
