Fowler maintains lead at Yarra Yarra
BY Anthony Powter | Australian Mens Amateur Tour | 2009 NEC Master of the Amateurs | Round Two | 13 Jan 2009
World number two, Rickie Fowler, has a two stroke lead over fellow American Mark Anderson after the second round of the NEC Master of the Amateurs being played at Yarra Yarra Golf Club, Victoria.
Fowler followed his opening round of 65 with an even par 72 to be at 5-under-par with Australia’s top ranked amateur, Matt Jager, moving to outright third after a second round 3-under-par 69, which equalled the day’s low round.
“I managed to pick up three shots from Rickie [Fowler] in a round, so that’s a positive result,” said Jager, ranked 14th in the world.
“It was tough out there with a strong northerly hot wind and it made scoring hard. It’s great to be again playing back in with a chance in another tournament, but there’s still plenty of golf left.”
Adam Mitchell is the next best in 4th position at 3-under-par followed by Daniel Beckmann at 2-under-par, whilst Daniel Nisbet joined Jager with the day’s low round of 69 to move up the leaderboard to 5th position.
The top eight players all have one thing in common – all play off a handicap of +1 or better, with Rickie Fowler claiming the lowest handicap at +5. That’s a refection of the toughness of the Yarra Yarra layout, as it punishes any wayward drive.
“This layout is tough,” says Jager.
“If you miss the fairway you struggle to make par because your ball usually is under a low shrub and all you can do is just punch out. There’s a great feel this week with the tournament and tomorrow is sure to be a test as the round starts later in the afternoon, so all the top players will have to battle in the windy conditions.”
With the second day reining in Rickie Fowler’s overnight lead from four to two, the tournament is anything but a close affair with six players within seven strokes of the leader, including last month’s winner of The Dunes Medal, Bryden Macpherson, at 2-over-par.
