Five birdies on the back nine helped Matteo Manassero secure his place at the top of the Nordea Masters leaderboard on Friday, while Australian Andrew Dodt hit a rare pair of hole-in-ones. The Italian hit 34 on the outward nine and ended up with a final round of 65 on the second day to go two shots ahead of Finland&aposs Mikko Ilonen at the European Tour event in Stockholm, Sweden. While Manassero&aposs form en route back to the clubhouse was devastating, the real story of the day was Dodt – who made the cut by the skin of his teeth thanks to two holes-in-one in his second round. The Australian carded a seven-under 65 to sneak inside the cut, with aces coming at the 11th and then seventh holes. Dodt, who becomes the first player on the European Tour to hit two hole-in-ones in a single round, said it was his second which ultimately proved to be the turning point. “The shot at the 11th, my second (of the day), kick-started things,” the 27-year-old said. “I made a few more birdies in between, then a couple of bogeys and I was heading the wrong way when I got to the seventh, our 16th hole. “It was an eight iron, felt a little bit heavy at the start, but right on line and it went in. I can&apost get my head around it – I&aposm pretty proud to be the first one to do it.” Going into the second half of the event, Scotland&aposs Peter Whiteford sits in third after a round of 63 on Friday while Dutchman Joost Luiten is just a shot behind after a round of 67.
Author: Omnisport