Date: August 30, 2008
Author:

Cambo on fire at Gleneagles

Michael Campbell&aposs resurgence continued as he fired a brilliant four-under 69 to be tied for fifth at the halfway point of the Johnnie Walker Championship in Scotland. Enduring a horror run at the start of the season where he regularly missed cuts and shot in the 80s, Campbell found confidence when reaching the weekend at the British Open and is now going from strength to strength. Opening with a helter-skelter 73 at Gleneagles which included five birdies, three bogeys and a double, his second round was steadier with only two dropped shots and six birdies including three in a row to start the back nine. He&aposs tied for fifth along with Dane Soren Hansen, Englishman David Howell and local hope Gary Orr – three shots behind leader Gregory Havret of France who backed up an opening 68 with a 71 on Friday. Kiwi left-hander Gareth Paddison will join Campbell on the weekend thanks to rounds of 72 and 73 to be tied for 23rd at one-over alongside Aussie Marcus Fraser, as will Mark Brown after he snuck in right on the cut line by bouncing back from a horror 78 to card a three-under 70. Peter O&aposMalley is one-over at the halfway mark, while compatriots Peter Fowler and Matthew Millar will also see weekend action after sneaking in at two-over. Not so fortunate was Steve Alker, who was the only New Zealander to pack his bag early as he shot 76, 74 to miss the cut by two. Havret, who overcame an embarrasing shank with his second shot of the day, leads by one from England&aposs Robert Rock, who was a joint leader at halfway in Holland last week before crashing to a Saturday 80. Welshman Bradley Dredge and Scot Peter Whiteford share third spot two back but it is the battle for Ryder Cup spots where the most action is happening. Englishman Oliver Wilson was the talk of the course in making the greatest comeback of his golfing life on Friday to stay on course for a Cup debut next month. Six over par with 10 holes to play and heading out of the tournament, the final qualifying event for the Ryder Cup, Wilson grabbed an eagle and two birdies to survive the halfway cut by the skin of his teeth. Minutes later German Martin Kaymer, Wilson&aposs biggest danger in the race for places in Nick Faldo&aposs European team, missed four-foot putts on the final two greens to miss out by one. With Justin Rose and Hansen on the verge of clinching a first Europe cap as well, Wilson now has to hold off the challenge of only fellow Englishmen Nick Dougherty and Ross Fisher. But Dougherty has to finish first or second on Sunday and Fisher has to be in the top three – and at halfway they are way down the field on one under and level par respectively. The conjecture over the Gleneagles putting surfaces is continuing to mount and a number of players endured nightmares with bumpy greens turning putting into a lottery at times. Second Round of the JWC at Gleneagles (Par 73): -7: Gregory Havret 68 71 -6: Robert Rock 70 70 -5: Bradley Dredge 71 70, Peter Whiteford 73 68 -4: Michael Campbell (New Zealand) 73 69, Soren Hansen 71 71, David Howell 75 67, Gary Orr 70 72 -3: Francois Delamontagne 75 68, Ricardo Gonzalez 76 67, Francesco Molinari 73 70, Graeme Storm 74 69 -2: Paul Broadhurst 70 74, Rafa Echenique 76 68, David Lynn 73 71, Colin Montgomerie 74 70, Justin Rose 73 71, Marcel Siem 74 70, Anthony Wall 71 73, Paul Waring 73 71, Lee Westwood 72 72, Chris Wood 75 69 Also: -1: Marcus Fraser (Australia) 75 70, Gareth Paddison (New Zealand) 72 73 +1: Peter O Malley (Australia) 78 69 +2: Mark Brown (New Zealand) 78 70, Peter Fowler (Australia) 75 73, Matthew Millar (Australia) 74 74 +4: Steve Alker (New Zealand) 76 74