The Celtic Manor Wales Open 2008 - Second Round Report
SECOND ROUND REPORT
Australia’s Scott Strange stretched his lead at The Celtic Manor Wales Open with a second round 66 which took him to an impressive halfway score of 13 under par on the new Twenty Ten course.
Strange made light work of the long layout – purpose-built for staging The Ryder Cup in 2010 and hosting its first professional tournament this week – by firing five birdies in a flawless round of golf.
Seeking his first European Tour victory, Strange leads by four strokes from a group of four players which includes former Volvo Masters champion Jeev Milkha Singh.
Robert Karlsson, the 2006 winner at Celtic Manor, is among five more players another shot further back on eight under par.
Strange said: “It’s always nice to lead a golf tournament, especially something like this in Wales.
“I’ve been in positions before and on the Asian Tour, I’ve won twice. To win here would be fantastic.”
Ryder Cup star Karlsson has finished third on his last three starts and he is many people’s favourite to convert his fine form into a win on Sunday should Strange fail to continue his magnificent play of the opening two days.
“Two 67s around here, I’m very happy with that,” said the big-hitting Swede. “It’s great to be up there. Last week was a missed opportunity but the most important thing is to keep playing my game and I’m really happy with the way things are going.”
Another bumper crowd enjoyed the fantastic spectator viewing on the Twenty Ten course and a few hundred were treated to an instructive Master Class on the driving range by the Open champion, Padraig Harrington.
Sadly, it was to be Harrington’s last duty at The Celtic Manor Wales Open as he missed the cut following a disappointing second round of 74, leaving him two over par.
Bradley Dredge, the Welshman who was second last year, also missed out by a single agonising stroke but four home players did make the weekend, headed by Jamie Donaldson and Kyron Sullivan on four under.