BY RIZWAN REHMAT
DOHA: Austria’s Bernd Wiesberger and South Africa’s George Coetzee yesterday joined Branden Grace for a share of the clubhouse lead with a nine-under par 135 aggregate on day two of the $2.5m Qatar Masters.
Wiesberger, who suffered a couple of bogeys on day one, yesterday produced a slick performance with a six under par 66 at the sun-bathed Doha Golf Club (DGC) where Coetzee’s 67 saw the two join South Africa’s Grace who carded 68 to supplement his first day’s 67.
After firing seven birdies, Wiesberger said: “I feel comfortable. I haven’t really expected it going into those two weeks, especially because I played quite poorly last year.”
Jumping 21 spots to share the lead, Wiesberger added: “It gives me great confidence; if I keep on doing what I’m doing, I think I’ve worked on the right things the last couple of weeks and it shows.”
Coetzee also sparkled under sunny conditions, making four birdies, but stuttered with his second bogey at the fifth hole this week.
“I’m playing well. My swing is coming along slightly and I’m putting pretty nicely,” Coetzee said.
“ I’ve just got to wait for my birdies and not force it and kind of play the golf course like I know it,” he added.
In a memorable outing yesterday, Marc Warren of Scotland scorched the DGC course with a stunning 65 to join An Byeong-hun of Korea and Emiliano Grillo of Argentina to finish the day with an aggregate of 136.
Thirty-three-year-old Warren, who missed the cut at last week’s Abu Dhabi Championship, was clearly going against the script when he launched the proceedings with an eagle on the 591-yard first hole and then fired six birdies - on holes 3, 4, 5, 12, 14 and 15 - to emerge joint second.
Wiesberger, 29, picked up a shot on his opening hole before firing four straight birdies from 13 to 16 and picking up two more on the front nine, offset by a bogey on seven.
“I played nicely out there today. I had a lot of birdies on my first nine. I got the putter going and drove it beautifully, only missing the last fairway on the fringe,” said Wiesberger, who finished sixth in Abu Dhabi last week.
“I only missed one green, where I hit the flag, so the long game was steady.
“However, the short irons down the stretch – four, five, six, seven – weren’t particularly good. I couldn’t get deeper into the 60s, but it was still a very good round.”
Wiesberger said his form in Abu Dhabi and Doha signals that he’s recovering the form that earned him two European Tour titles in 2012.
“I feel comfortable. I haven’t really expected it going into these two weeks, especially because I played quite poorly last year, so it gives me great confidence if I keep on doing what I’m doing. I think I’ve worked on the right things the last couple of weeks and it shows.”
Grace, already a winner on the European Tour this season at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, made four birdies and a bogey to sit on nine under par.
His four under par round of 68 came on an unusually calm day at DGC, although no one could take advantage sufficiently to reach double figures under par.
Grace, five times a European Tour winner, said: “I really thought somebody was going to push on. You saw the guys from this morning, they were six under and five under and seven under, and nobody really pushed towards the end of the day.”
He added: “The greens weren’t as quick as I thought they were going to be. They are still very good. They didn’t spike up at all, so it’s a big surprise nobody really pushed on.”
Spain’s Alejandro Canizares, South Africa’s Darren Fichardt and Australia’s Richard Green finished day two with 137 to share the third spot on the leaderboard.
After a sluggish 70 on the first day, Green carded a 67 at DGC yesterday.
Defending champion Sergio Garcia failed to improve on his first day’s performance.
The 35-year-old Spaniard carded another 69 to share fourth spot with 11 others that included former champion Paul Lawrie (70, 68), India’s Shiva Kapur (70, 68) and overnight leader Oliver Fisher of England.
Fisher who fired a 65 on day one yesterday was brought down to earth with a sluggish 73. Three bogeys - on holes 5, 9 and 13 - saw the Englishman finish the day with an aggregate of 138.
The cut mark was one under, with Major Champion Charl Schwartzel a notable absentee for the next two days, having shot six over yesterday.
Last week’s winner at the Abu Dhabi Championship Gary Stal also missed the cut.
THE PENINSULA
