British Masters R2: Richard Bland leads Andrew Johnston by one shot
Saturday 15 October 2016 12:24, UK
Richard Bland will take a one-shot lead into the weekend of the British Masters after edging ahead of Andrew Johnston and Alex Noren on a second day of excellent scoring at The Grove.
Bland fired the round of the day, storming home in just 30 blows to card a seven-under 64 which lifted him to the top of the leaderboard on 11 under par, while he also completed 36 holes without a single bogey.
Player of the day
Johnston may have delighted his "Beef Army" of fans, but Bland's stunning effort - which he capped with four birdies over the last five holes - earned him the plaudits.
Special mentions also for Tommy Fleetwood, who was three over before picking up six shots in as many holes to post a 67, and Eddie Pepperell, who fired a 65 to get him safely into the weekend on five under with just two weeks left to try and retain his card.
Biggest disappointment
Tournament host Luke Donald was unable to repair the damage of his opening 77, although he did manage to salvage some pride when he birdied three of his last five holes. But a 70 left him well outside the cut on five over par.
Star shot
Easy one. Soomin Lee made the first hole-in-one of the tournament, finding the target with a perfect six-iron at the 174-yard 13th hole. He went on to return a 69, but that merely left him alongside Donald having opened with a disappointing 78.
Story of the second round
Bland stole the headlines from the marquee group of Johnston and Noren, who was two shots clear of the field after making seven birdies in a flawless first 17 holes, only to get into severe trouble at the ninth as he took the gloss off his 65 with a double-bogey six.
The Swede dropped from 12 under to 10, where he was joined by "Beef" after the fan-favourite also shot 65, which he closed out with a superb 25-foot putt for birdie on the ninth, prompting one of the loudest cheers heard at The Grove all week.
Noren and Johnston had set a tough target in the clubhouse, and with an hour of play remaining, it appeared they would be out in Saturday's final group together - until Bland put together a late birdie onslaught in the fading light.
Bland, who was one off the lead at the halfway stage at Woburn last year before slipping away over the weekend, picked up an early birdie at the second and parred the next seven holes in a quiet, but steady front nine.
But he ignited his charge up the leaderboard with birdies at 10 and 12, and four more over the final five holes capped the low round of the tournament so far. He was quick to thank his coach - Sky Sports commentator Tim Barter - for helping turn his form around after a poor week at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
"I actually kind of came into this week not hitting it that well," he said. "Last week at the Dunhill, I probably had my worst ball-striking round of the year. I saw Tim on Tuesday and literally couldn't hit it forwards, but I got back into some good habits and that's what I've tried to take from these last two days.
"I'm trying to stay aggressive and just keep going for my shots, and I putted great. I've holed out fantastically well, not only these last two days but probably over the last sort of three or four months. If I can keep that going, hopefully I'll be there on Sunday."
Scott Jamieson, currently "on the bubble" in the Race to Dubai standings at 117th, put himself on course for a big pay day as he compiled a faultless six-birdie 65 which elevated him to nine under, where he was later joined by Fleetwood (67) and Paul Lawrie Match Play champion Anthony Wall (65).
Fleetwood was flirting with a missed cut when he bogeyed three of his first five holes to slip to two under, but he hit back with birdies at 15 and 17 before knocking a superb second to three feet at 18 and nailing the chance for eagle.
The young Englishman added further birdies at the first and second and closed with another at nine, while Wall cruised into the top 10 and kept a bogey off his six-birdie card.
Live European Tour Golf
Chris Wood and Tyrrell Hatton also handed in flawless cards, both making five birdies to get to eight under, with Lee Westwood (68) and Marc Warren (69) a stroke further off the pace.
But tournament host Luke Donald bowed out at the halfway stage, going seven shots lower than his opening 77 thanks to three late birdies which merely lifted him to five over par.
