England's Boyd tied for lead, Ryder hopefuls in mix at Gleneagles
England's Gary Boyd shot his second eagle of the tournament - on the same hole where he carded his first yesterday - to tie for the lead in the second round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles today.
That eagle on the 16th, along with birdies on the 9th and 17th saw him come home four-under-par today, nine-under for the tournament, to see him share the clubhouse lead with France's Julien Guerrier, who finished five-under today.
Scotland's Stephen Gallacher, England's Mark Foster and South Africa's George Coetzee were each two strokes further back on seven-under, tied for third place. Ryder Cup team member Francesco Molinari was amongst those tied for sixth place, as was Ryder vice captain Paul McGinley - and Ryder hopeful Simon Dyson, who can still qualify for the event at Celtic Manor if he wins here.
Ross Fisher has already booked his place at the October tournament, but his play here will have encouraged captain Colin Montgomerie, even if the 29-year-old had a somewhat topsy-turvy day. Fisher roared through his first 11 holes with eight birdies, before carding four bogeys on the bounce to finish five-under for the day.
Spain's Miguel Angel Jiménez, another likely Ryder Cup player, was three-under today, five-under in total having played up to the turn with four birdies and a bogey, while Edoardo Molinari, still holding out for a wildcard pick from Monty, is currently four-under in total having shot two birdies on the front nine today.
And Alvaro Quiros, who can also qualify automatically for the competition if he wins here, has improved on yesterday's shaky showing so far with four birdies and a bogey on the front nine, leaving him on three-under as he approaches the back nine.
That's the same score as Peter Hanson, the Swede who currently lies eighth in the Ryder Cup ranking points and shot an eagle on the second followed by two birdies on the 3rd and 4th, though Hanson still has the back nine to contend with. That means the pair are tied for 28th place - but more importantly it means that every player with a mathematical chance of qualifying for the biennial competition in October is still in the mix.
Good news for Monty, though the Scot may be following events in the US as closely as he is here in Gleneagles - whether that's to weigh up the relative merits of the FedEx Four, or else keep an eye on Tiger Woods' progress.
The world No. 1, so poor by his own standards in recent months, posted his best round of the year yesterday; ominously, the 14-time major winner may be finding his form just in time for Celtic Manor. Which perhaps explains why Monty has hit six bogeys in 11 holes so far today - the Scot is five-over-par today, four-over in total, and currently tied for 111th place.
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