Date: November 28, 2008
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Australia off to a World Cup flyer

Australia is in second place on nine-under at the end of the opening round of the Mission Hills World Cup after Brendan Jones and Richard Green combined to card a 63. A strong run coming home saw Australia climb up the leaderboard to take sole possession of second place behind Germany after Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka fired it to the top (10-under). Jones and Green had managed just three birdies between them on the outward nine but turned on the style after the turn. Green picked up shots on the par-five 11th and short 13th before Jones hit two successive birdies from the 14th. Left-hander Green then added two more birdies at the 16th and 18th as Australia strengthened its bid for a fifth World Cup title. “We progressed pretty nicely through the front nine and hung in there I guess,” said Green. “We had a really nice run through the middle of the back nine, made most of the birdies there and it was a good feeling finishing off the way we did.” Kaymer and Cejka combined well on the Olazabal course at a blustery Mission Hills Golf Club to secure a one-stroke lead with a 10-under-par 62 in fourballs. Germany got its bid for a second World Cup win in three years off to a fine start as Kaymer reeled off three successive birdies from the first before Cejka added another on the par-four fourth. Kaymer then fired a superb eagle three on the seventh, holing a putt from over 65 feet before picking up another shot on the ninth to ensure Germany reached the turn at seven-under. Kaymer, who won twice on the European Tour in the 2008 season, added another two birdies coming home while Cejka weighed in with one more. “We had a really good start today,” said Kaymer. “We were seven-under after nine holes and kept playing well on the back nine and finished 10-under. That is a very good score because it was windy out there and it was a little bit tougher than last year.” Spain, the United States and Canada all trail Australia by a stroke and are in a tie on eight-under. Scotland&aposs Colin Montgomerie and Alastair Forsyth, looking to stage a successful defence of the trophy, finished six shots off the pace after a 68 while England&aposs Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher are a shot further behind. A disappointing double bogey on the last meant Ireland dropped from second to tied sixth at seven-under. Graeme McDowell and the experienced Paul McGinley had combined for seven birdies with Ryder Cup star McDowell firing an eagle three on the par-five 11th. “You don&apost expect to be making bogeys, certainly not double bogeys,” said McDowell. “We are both disappointed with the finish but there is a lot of good golf out there.” The Welsh pair of Bradley Dredge and Richard Johnson returned a disappointing 69 to share 20th place.