Photo Bernard Brault , GOLF CANADA ©2018
HAROLD VARNER III AND ADRI ARNAUS ASCENDED TO THE TOP OF THE LEADERBOARD ON FRIDAY AT ROYAL GREENS ON A DAY WHICH WAS OVERSHADOWED BY THE WITHDRAWAL OF TOURNAMENT HEADLINE STAR BRYSON DECHAMBEAU. ON A WINDY DAY IN THE DESERT THE LEADING PAIR DEFIED THE CONDITIONS TO OPEN UP A TWO-STROKE LEAD ON THE REST OF THE FIELD, WITH VARNER MAKING 6 BIRDIES IN HIS ROUND OF 66 TO ADD TO AN OPENING ROUND OF 64 AND MOVE TO 10-UNDER-PAR.
“I played really solid,” said Varner, who was paired with MATTHEW WOLFF.
“It wasn’t blowing as hard this morning, so I didn’t think it was gettable, but obviously in my group it was pretty gettable, so just trying to hang in there and just give myself a chance.”
He added: “I think you’ve got to drive it really well. It’s [the course] forgiving off the tee, but when it’s blowing this hard, the lines get a little bit tighter, and you’ve just got to keep hitting good shots.”
He added: “I think you’ve got to drive it really well. It’s [the course] forgiving off the tee, but when it’s blowing this hard, the lines get a little bit tighter, and you’ve just got to keep hitting good shots.”
SPAIN'S ADRI ARNAUS, A WINNER ON THE DP WORLD TOUR, MATCHED VARNER'S FRIDAY SCORE AND TWO-ROUND TOTAL WITH A ROUND OF 66 WHICH INCLUDED 8 BIRDIES. “I’ve been playing this course now for a few years and starting to get the hang of it. Even on this wind, I’ve already seen it in the past, so I know my lines,” said the Spaniard.
“That doesn’t mean that a few shots might not go your way, and that’s what happened on the front nine. On the back nine, we kept it quite well in play. So that’s the important part, just putting yourself in a good spot and from there trying to attack.”
THE CUT FELL AT 4-OVER-PAR AND JUST 35 PLAYERS WILL ENTER THE WEEKEND UNDER PAR DUE TO THE DIFFICULT CONDITIONS DURING THE SECOND ROUND. PAST SAUDI INTERNATIONAL CHAMPION GRAEME MCDOWELL SHOT A SECOND STRAIGHT ROUND OF 73 ON THE PAR 70 LAYOUT AND WILL MISS THE WEEKEND. CAMERON SMITH, MATTHEW WOLFF, TOMMY FLEETWOOD AND BUBBA WATSON ARE WITHIN 4 STROKES OF THE LEAD WITH THE LIKES OF DUSTIN JOHNSON, TYRRELL HATTON, PHIL MICKELSON, PATRICK REED, XANDER SCHAUFFELE AND FIRST ROUND LEADER MATTEO MANASSERO ALL STILL IN CONTENTION HEADING INTO THE FINAL 36 HOLES.
BUT IT WAS DECHAMBEAU'S WITHDRAWAL WHICH STOLE THE HEADLINES ON THE SECOND DAY OF THIS MUCH ANTICIPATED TOURNAMENT. THE AMERICAN, WHO UNDERWENT A HUGE CHANGE PHYSICALLY DURING THE FIRST LOCKDOWN IN THE PANDEMIC, HAS MULTIPLE INJURIES TO HIS HANDS AND HIP.
ROUND 2 LEADERBOARD
1 Harold Varner III -10
Adri Arnaus -10
3 Cameron Smith -8
Matthew Wolff -8
5 Tommy Fleetwood -7
6 JC Ritchie -6
Bubba Watson -6
Ryosuke Kinoshita -6
SHANK WILL HAVE A DAILY REPORT FROM ROUND 3 ON SATURDAY FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION OF PLAY, AND THEN UPDATES FROM THE FINAL ROUND OVER ON OUR TWITTER PAGE ON SUNDAY BEFORE A REPORT FOLLOWING THE CONCLUSION OF THE FINAL ROUND, AND THEN OUR MAJOR FEATURE - GIVING THE GAME A SHEIKH UP - WILL BE PUBLISHED ON SHANKMEDIA.CO.UK/GOLF
