Czech open 2010: Hanson surges into lead with 2 shots
The Swedish Peter Hanson kept his hold on an automatic European Ryder Cup selection after posting a score of 70 in the second round of the Czech open 2010 on Friday.
Hanson, one of the 4 contenders desperate for Ryder selection is currently No. 1 in the tournament after posting a net total of seven under. He was joined by Fredrik Widmark, who posted a 67 yesterday. In the second top spot is Peter Lawrie, a native of Ireland, who scored a 3 under 68. However, Lawrie is also joined by three others; Clodomiro Carranza, Fredrik Andersson and Nicolas Colsaerts. Experts predict that if Hanson wins the Czech Open at Celandna on Sunday, he would confirm his spot in the Ryder cup European team headed by Colin Montgomerie. He will also be able to clutch the 8th position in the European points list. It seems as if the player has cashed in after Paul Casey, Padraig Harrington and Luke Donald decided not to contest either the Czech Open or the Johnnie Walker Championship. Hanson too would have missed the cut if he wasn’t to receive the invitation on time.
Regarding his performance on Friday, Hanson started the second round from the 10th hole and posted 4 birdies along the way. However, he had 2 bogeys and a couple of missed putts out of which the worst came at the 9th hole when he planned a 5 foot birdie putt and instead it turned out to be a bogey. Hanson is currently 15th on the European points list which means he can’t afford bogeys like these if he wants to confirm something big. Peter left four to five shots in the beginning which gave an impression that he would go really low but down the lane, he picked up his game and hit some good shots with comparatively less putts. On the whole, it was a good day for him. Hanson is thought to be getting better day by day especially after the WGC- Bridgestone invitation. The part of his game that has improved the most is his putting which was previously considered quite unimpressive.
Moreover, another veteran Miguel Angel Jimenez, who is currently 8th on the European points list chased his first day score of 71 all the way to 70 and as a result shares the 18th spot on the leader board with seven other players at 3 under. Simon Dyson claimed the 7th spot after improving his first day scores and finishing with a 5 under 69. His overall stats are 79-69. This improvement has helped him in sustaining his automatic selection for the Ryder cup team. The other Englishmen Ross McGowan and Oliver Wilson made a 1 under 71 and 72 respectively.
The day’s best performance was delivered by Shane Lowry who posted a magnificent 64. At the same time, the Welshman Bradley Dredge got a 2-shots penalty for being late on the course.
At the end of the day, Hanson was successful in entering the third round with a two shot lead and 7 under along with his compatriot Widmark who posted the same score. The Friday’s session of the Czech open went well according to media reports. Now One day’s play is left and it is believed that Sunday will decide the winner as well as the member of the Ryder Cup team.
Tags: