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Pettersen keeps lead in World Ladies Championship

Defending champion Suzann Pettersen fired a second round five-under-par 68 on the Blackstone Course at Mission Hills Resort Haikou in China on Friday to keep her lead at the World Ladies Championship.

The World No.2 from Norway was sitting at 11-under-par at the halfway stage of the individual 72-hole stroke play tournament, two clear of five other players.

Australian Nikki Campbell (67), England’s Trish Johnson (68), South Koreans and So Yeon Ryu (67) and Ye Na Chung (69) and Valentine Derrey of France (68) were all on nine-under-par after a warm and overcast day in tropical Hainan.

Pettersen’s score card was flawless with four birdies on the par fives and another on the driveable par-4 16th, a dog-leg playing over a lake.

“Today was a little windy as we started,” said Pettersen. “Overall it was pretty decent. I feel like the par fives are playing like long par fours so five under today is certainly where I should be.”

With some low scoring on the second day – including a career-best round of nine-under-par 64 from Italian Diana Luna – Pettersen felt that she would need to dig deep and produce some phenomenal golf to maintain her lead and successfully defend.  

She said: “You can really go low out here. There were a couple of really low ones out here today. It’s impossible to say. I think you’ve got to be at least 16-under-par for the next two rounds; then I think you’re in good shape.”

One of her closest competitors is Ryu, the World No.5 who recorded two eagles in her second round. The 2011 US Women’s Open champion said: “The first was on hole six. I hit a three-wood and then a three-wood again the second shot. My eagle putt was just three feet. On hole 16 I hit a driver on the green and it was an eight foot eagle putt and I made it. I think it was 260 to the pin.”

Johnson, another player just two strokes behind Pettersen, was feeling much better after recovering from an illness. She started with a pair of bogeys on holes 10 and 11 but picked up seven birdies and also felt that low scoring was required over the weekend.

“Obviously there are two or three people in the field who can shoot anything under so it’s a case of wait and see what happens,” said Johnson. “I would imagine you’ve got to be 20 to 24 under to win, so it’s going to be a hell of a weekend.”

Derrey also mixed seven birdies with two bogeys in a 68 and said: “I started pretty well making birdies on the par fives. They are reachable in two so I think that’s easy and I just made a couple of putts and hit really good shots and shot five under.”

Korean LPGA player Chung, who led the Sanya Ladies Open in Hainan in October last year, had six birdies and two bogeys in a four-under 69. She said: “I tried not to be greedy today, so I focused on making a par on every hole and I think that was the reason for my score.”

Luna was feeling at home on the moonscape-like black lava volcanic golf course. Her personal low round of 64 included two eagles on the second and 16th holes, as well as seven birdies and two bogeys. She said: “I think I was in a very good mood today. I was smiling all the time and pretty relaxed. It worked out pretty well.”

In the team event running concurrently, where scores are determined by the lowest aggregate for each pair representing their country, France and South Korea were tied for the lead on 276 at the halfway point.

However, with new tournament conditions this year, Norway was out of the race as Pettersen’s partner, Marianne Skarpnord, missed the cut by one stroke and will not play the weekend.  

Immaculate Dyson in electric form at Copperleaf

An explosive finish from Simon Dyson handed the Englishman a share of the lead with home favourite Trevor Fisher Jnr on seven under par on the opening day of the Tshwane Open.

At 7,964 yards, the Ernie Els-designed Copperleaf Golf & Country Estate is the longest course on The European Tour, but Dyson carded a flawless round of 65 to sit alongside Fisher Jnr, who still had two holes left to play when play was suspended for the day due to the threat of lightning in Centurion.

Dyson notched birdies at the second and fifth holes on the front nine and collected another shot at the tenth, but it was at the 15th where the 36 year old really hit his stride.

A birdie there was followed by another after a pitch to within a foot at the 16th, before a 15 foot putt at the 17th completed a hat-trick of gains.

And Dyson signed off in style by holing from 25 feet at the last to set the pace, with his compatriot Ross Fisher and four more South Africans in Erik Van Rooyen, Jared Harvey, Darren Fichardt and Danie van Tonder all tied in third place on six under par.

“It was really nice,” said Dyson, who captured the last of his six European Tour titles at the 2011 KLM Open.

“Putting has been the let-down for the last few weeks, but me and my caddie had a chat about what I’m doing wrong. We spent about an hour and a half on the putting green yesterday, and I managed to get a good feel for it.

“I holed a good six footer for par at the first and then about a 40 footer for birdie at the second, and that was it – I was off and running.

“It’s a lovely start. It’s my lowest round in a good few years, especially on the first day. It just puts you in a nice frame of mind, and sets it up nicely to have a good weekend.”

Fisher Jnr will have to set an early alarm on Friday, when play will resume at 6.45am. Like his co-leader, Fisher Jnr is yet to drop a shot at Copperleaf, and the South African will hope to add to his seven birdies in his remaining two holes. 

Earlier in the day, Fisher had made an excellent start as he chases a first European Tour win for four years.

A four-time winner between 2007 and 2010, the former Ryder Cup star carded a six under par 66.

Having started on the back nine, Fisher turned in a blemish-free 32 before carding a bogey at the first hole.

However, a run of four consecutive birdies from the fifth hole – including a 20 foot putt at the seventh – saw him hit the top of the leaderboard, only to drop a second shot of the day at the last after failing to get up-and-down from just off the green.

“I got into a nice steady run with four birdies in a row on the front nine, which was my back nine,” said Fisher. “Unfortunately I dropped one at the last, but I can’t complain too much with six under.

“The course is pretty soft after all the rain we’ve had, but if you drive it well then you’ll have a lot of looks at birdie.

“My game feels in good shape coming off the back of a good result in South Africa a couple of weeks ago. I don’t know what it is, I just enjoy playing down here and I seem to play quite well."