O'Hern and Huntingdale under attack on day two
IN: News | Australasian PGA | MasterCard Masters (2005) | Round Two | 09 Dec 2005
The moves have come thick and fast early on day two of the MasterCard Masters and while Nick O'Hern was probably still having breakfast back at his hotel, his three shot lead was under attack. By 10am he was joined in the lead by the young New Zealander Bradley Iles, who in just his second event as a professional had moved to four under through ten holes and eight under for the tournament.
Iles was not even aware he was in the field until early in the week, having thought that last week's PGA would be his only chance for a start. He finished 25th after gaining a start courtesy of the influence of Michael Campbell. This week he was still unsure at the start of the week that he was in the field until David Rollo from IMG advised him of his place.
Iles turned in 33 this morning despite not having birdied either of the two par fives on the front nine but when he birdied the par five 10th he had joined O'Hern in the lead. Australia has been good to Iles, he was runner up to Jack Doherty at the Australian Amateur Championship in 2004 and has played in many other amateur events here.
Here he is now, so early in his professional career, leading the MasterCard Masters an event he has no doubt often watched from his beachside home in Papamoa in New Zealand's Bay Of Plenty. He would bogey the par three twelfth hole to slip one back of O'Hern but he was handling the situation well, given his lack of experience.
Two weeks ago, Martin Doyle challenged on the last day at the Australian Open and eventually finished 7th. He missed the cut at Coolum but highlighted his love for Melbourne courses when he moved to four under for the day through twelve holes and at seven under he had joined Iles in second place behind O'Hern. No sooner had he done that than he was back at six under with a bogey at his 13th (Huntingdale's fourth hole).
Jarrod Moseley has reached the point where he will not have European Tour status in 2006 for the first time since his debut in 1999 with his win at the Heineken. Today he showed that there is still something there when he moved to six under through sixteen holes and he had joined Allenby and Senden, who were yet to tee off at five under.
Richard Swift played well early last week at the PGA before finishing 17th and he again showed that that such form was still with him. He moved to four under through seventeen and four under for the tournament and now sits alongside Paul Casey, who was making solid progress in round two, New Zealander Martin Pettigrew and Peter O'Malley.
There were plenty of others who were making their moves as the conditions remained perfect for what promised to be a day of hot scoring. The cut, which looked as if it could be as much as three over at the start of day two, began to look as if it would be more like one over as the conditions remained perfect by late morning.
Photo - Anthony Powter
