Thomas Aiken leading the Open de Espana after second round – Golf news
Thomas Aiken is leading the Open de Espana after posting a four under par in the second round.
Being at eight under par overall, Aiken moved up five positions in the second round. Taking place at the Real Club de Golf El Prat, the Open de Espana is part of the European Tour and has a purse of €2 million. First round leader Scott Jamieson posted an
even par to drop down two places and tie for third position. Jamieson is at six under par overall and is tied with three other players.
Aiken actually took a seven-week break in the Bahamas and did not pick up a golfing club even once. Apparently, the break really worked on him as he made 68s in both the first and second rounds.
The South African player started his second round with a birdie and then followed it up with another birdie on the seventh hole. The momentum broke as he made a bogey on the eighth hole but he got right back on track by making a birdie on the ninth hole.
On the back-nine, Aiken started with birdie again and then birdied the 14th hole. Bogeying hole number 16, the 27-year-old birdied the 18th hole and finished eight under par overall.
The second day of the tournament was surely a sombre one as the news of Seve Ballesteros worsening condition became public. The greatest golfer of all times, Ballesteros was undergoing treatment for brain cancer and his family reported that his neurological
condition has worsened.
Aiken is leading the tournament by one stroke with Spanish Pablo Larrazabal right behind. Compatriot Larrazabal knowing about Ballesteros surely was not as focused as he wanted to. He made three birdies and only bogey in the second round.
“My brother gave me the sad news about Seve. I belong to another generation and never actually saw Seve play, but his fight these last years has been an inspiration for us all,” said Larrazabal. “Although I was too young to watch him perform when he was
at the top, I have seen all his films, and he was really spectacular, never giving up, hitting his driver and chasing the ball into the hole from everywhere.”
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