Senior back in hunt at Senior PGA
BY Bruce Young | Champions Tour | 2012 Senior PGA Championship | Round Two | 26 May 2012
England’s Roger Chapman and American John Cook share the lead through 36 holes of the Senior PGA Championship at Harbor Shores in Benton Harbor in Michigan, the pair two shots clear of the veteran Hale Irwin whose round was spoiled a little by a bogey at the par five last today.
Chapman, who plays the European Senior Tour where he has yet to win an event has been the surprise packet of the event to date, playing the demanding Nicklaus designed layout and its greens in impressive style.
“Well I’ve been driving the ball well, said Chapman. "I think I missed maybe two fairways or one fairway all week, so far and I’ve hit I think 16 greens yesterday and 16 today. So you got to have chances when you hit the greens.
“It was a lot easier today. Although the wind was in sort of changed 180 degrees, I think. It was from the south yesterday and north today.
“A lot cooler. It was very hot yesterday for us English boys. It was 88 or something I think yesterday. I believe it’s going to be sort of 92 or something on Sunday.
So, yeah. But I think we got the right end of the draw. Yesterday morning it wasn’t too windy and it got up a bit during the round. Then today it was only sort of six to 10 miles an hour. So it made the golf course play quite nicely. I think they watered the greens a bit because they were a bit more receptive today."
Chapman won just one event in his lengthy career on the European Tour but despite not winning at the Senior level has put together a lot of good solid tournament finishes.
Cook is significantly more experienced than his joint leader having won eight events on the Champions Tour in addition to 11 on the PGA Tour.
Cook produced a back nine of 32 to catch the early second round leader and is likley to prove a tough man to beat over the closing 36 holes.
The 66 year old Irwin, a winner of 45 Champions Tour titles, continues to defy logic with the quality of his play nearly 17 years after joining the then Senior Tour in 1995.
Steve Pate and Loren Roberts are just two shots further back and within four of the lead.
Peter Senior recovered from a slow start to record a round of 67 on day two and moved from 45th to a share of 8th position. As he has so often shown Senior plays the tough courses well and is within striking distance (6 shots) with 36 holes to play.
Peter Fowler also made the cut at 4 over, a further five shots behind Senior.
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