Parry pounces at Dunhill Links Championship
John Parry is the clubhouse leader at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this afternoon after the second round, the Englishman currently leading his nearest rival by four strokes after coming home seven-under-par 65 today.
That means Parry is 12-under for the tournament, and unlikely to see his lead usurped, despite the fact that several players are yet to finish their rounds. With the tournament taking place across three different venues in Scotland, Parry was playing at St Andrews historic Old Course, and last month's Vivendi Cup winner started unremarkably, carding two birdies in his opening nine holes (Parry started on the back nine).
But then on the front nine Parry found three birdies in three holes, with another two coming on the 5th and 6th to see the 23-year-old come home with seven birdies, having not put a foot wrong over the course of his round. That follows a fine opening round from Parry, where he carded two eagles to finish five-under-par.
Sweden's Martin Erlandsson was in second place on eight-under, having shot four-under today, while Spain's Alvaro Quiros is on seven-under, along with Ryder Cup winners Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer, all of whom were tied for third place. Other recent Ryder alumnus challenging for places in the top ten included Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell on six-under-par, and Dubliner Padraig Harrington, five-under.
Lee Westwood managed to complete his round, after complaining yesterday that the calf injury that had kept him out of the sport for six weeks had flared up again. Westwood finished his second round on level par, with two bogeys and two birdies, leaving him two-under for the tournament.
If Westwood can finish in first or second place, he will replace Tiger Woods as world No. 1, though that looks a tall order for the Englishman given his current struggles with his fitness. Westwood looks likely to take time out from competitive play after this weekend, though thanks to the complexities of the ranking system, that still may not be enough to prevent him taking Woods' crown in the next month or so.
The immediate news is less encouraging for Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy, however. The 21-year-old is expected to achieve great things over the next 15 or 20 years, and is already a Ryder Cup winner, but McIlroy was a little sluggish today, failing to build on his one-under-par 71 opener yesterday when he finished two-over today, one-over for the tournament.
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