PERTH, Australia: Scotland’s Peter Whiteford edged out overnight co-leader Thorbjorn Olesen with an eagle to take the outright lead after the second round of the Perth International yesterday.
Whiteford shot a six-under 66 for a two-round total of 12-under 132 to lead the Dane by one shot at the halfway stage of the European Tour co-sanctioned tournament at Lake Karrinyup.
“I was disappointed to not take a few chances today, so that eagle kind of made up for a couple of things today,” Whiteford said.
“I played great, I kind of felt like I got what I deserved.
“It’s not often you say that in golf. You’re always thinking you could’ve done better. But
that eagle made me feel a lot better.”
The pressure is on for Whiteford, who needs to finish outright second or win the Perth International to retain his European Tour card for next season.
“It’s no holds barred, win or bust,” he said.
“It’s not a matter of ‘I would like to win’. I need to, to try to keep my job.”
Starting the day tied for the lead with Australian John Wade, Thorbjorn reeled off four birdies before a bogey at the last left him at three-under 69 for the day and 11-under 133 for the tournament.
“It’s always tough to come back after a great round and shoot another good round,” said Olesen, who started the day at eight-under.
“But I felt like I played solid out there. I gave myself a lot of chances for birdie, especially on the front nine.”
Olesen heads into the weekend one of the favourites to take out the Perth title.
“I have a lot of expectations on myself. I’ve been in this position a few times in my career so I know how it is,” he added.
South Korean Sihwan Kim was in outright third on 10-under while Scotland’s David Drysdale and England’s James Morrison were a further shot back.
Morrison fired the round of the day with a course record at nine-under 63.
“I drive it straight and I’ve got a good short game. So unlike the longer golf courses, this sort of course suits me. I just feel comfortable,” Morrison said.
The second round cut was made at one-under 143 with former US Open champion Geoff Ogilvy a big name casualty after posting one over 145. AFP
