GOLF: A rose in bloom suggests a quintessentially English image and was therefore apposite at Wentworth yesterday when Justin Rose eased his way to the top of the leaderboard after the second round of the Volvo PGA Championship.
He swept past overnight leader Ernie Els, opening a two-shot advantage at 11 under par over the South African, Ireland's Darren Clarke, Joakim Haeggman and Philip Price.
Not that Rose was completely satisfied. "I'm still not hitting it 100 percent as I'd like to. Ball-striking wise I feel that I am below where I want to be but I'm not hitting too many destructive shots."
The arrival of his coach, David Leadbetter, means that he'll be able to fine-tune his game further in pursuit of his first victory for almost two years.
Not that his form recently can be considered anything other than good as evidenced by two top 10 finishes in America. In fact he is 30 under par for his last 12 rounds in 2004.
Rose is being chased by a quartet of players that should have included Dodd, who was out in the third-last match. It was a case of waiting for Doddo as at one stage he reached 10 under but a bogey on the 17th and another on the final hole saw him slip back to eight under par.
It would be an exaggeration to suggest that Clarke was incandescent after shooting a 67 yesterday but he wasn't too chipper about his finish. "It was pretty good early on but then let a few slip towards the end. I wasted a few (shots). I hit two really good shots onto the 17th and three-putted. I then didn't birdie the last. It's been okay but I feel I left a few out there today."
Clarke's frustration is understandable in one respect. Having stood on the 11th tee in the first round at two over par, he has played the last 26 holes in 11 under par; yet it could and should have been so much better. A consolation will be that his game's in excellent shape from tee to green.
The putter isn't exactly cold but if he can get a few more to drop then he' ll be a match for anyone over the weekend. He wasn't alone in a misfiring on the greens, Els's putting stroke deserting him, at least initially. "I actually struck the ball well on the first couple of holes but I had no feeling with the putter. The greens were a little bit uncomfortable to say the least," a reference to the fact that they were harder and showing wear and tear from the morning traffic.
"I missed a short one on three, three putted for a par on four. I was shaky at that point. On the back nine I started hitting better putts, and then kind of lost my swing a bit. It could have been a really tough day but I just tried to hang in there."
The South African will reflect on a birdie, birdie finish that rescued a 71 on a tough afternoon and his round. He's not bothered at playing catch-up, pointing out: "Yeh, to have a lead now, it's just a score really. We'll talk about a lead when we get to Sunday afternoon; now that's when you really want to hang on."
Pontypridd's Philip Price eased into contention with a superb 65, that included a closing stretch of five birdies. The Welshman enjoys the course and felt that going into the round his game was in good shape.
A Ryder Cup hero at the Belfry when he beat Phil Mickelson in the singles, he's nowhere near the team at present but confessed that last week at Heidelberg he started to take a keener interest.
"I'd like to play but a couple of years ago it was my only goal in the end, whereas they're other priorities now.
"I want to play in the US, so that's where I have made a lot of effort with not a lot of reward. Now it's going to be Europe, the Ryder Cup, the world rankings and the Order or Merit. They're my goals now."
Sweden's Haeggman hauled himself up the leaderboard but he, too, will regret a lacklustre finish.
"Any time you walk off this golf course with a couple of fives on the last two holes, you haven't really done your job very well. It' s a little bit disappointing but at the same time if you'd asked me if I would be happy with nine under after two days, I would have said definitely.
"I have a good chance for the weekend and am feeling pretty good about it."
The Swede is enjoying an excellent season, currently tied with Els for the most top 10s this season at five. Ian Poulter, Angel Cabrera and the 2002 Volvo PGA champion Anders Hansen are a shot further back on a day when Vijay Singh and Retief Goosen tumbled from the leaderboard.
Wentworth Scores
(Par 72)
133 (9 under)
J Rose 67 66
135 (7 under)
P Price 70 65
D Clarke 68 67
E Els (Rsa) 64 71
J Haeggman (Swe) 68 67
136 (6 under)
A Cabrera (Arg) 67 69
I Poulter 68 68
AHansen (Den) 67 69
M Siem (Ger) 69 67
S Dodd 65 71
137 (5 under)
D Fichardt (Rsa) 68 69
S Drummond 66 71
P Hedblom (Swe) 69 68
138 (4 under)
C Hanell (Swe) 65 73
T Bjorn (Den) 72 66
T Levet (Fra) 72 66
139 (3 under)
M A Jimenez (Spa) 65 74
VSingh (Fij) 66 73
N Faldo 70 69
N Colsaerts (Bel) 67 72
M Lafeber (Ned) 68 71
D Gilford 67 72
140 - S Webster 71 69, E Romero (Arg) 69 71, C Montgomerie 70 70, T Jaidee (Thai) 69 71, S Khan 68 72, C Kelly 69 71, JFs Remesy (Fra) 71 69, A Wall 68 72
141- D Howell 72 69, J Bickerton 68 73, S Lyle 71 70, P Casey 68 73, P Lonard (Aus) 69 72, P Fulke (Swe) 72 69, M Ilonen (Fin) 69 72
142 - J Spence 70 72, R Goosen (Rsa) 68 74, R Jacquelin (Fra) 71 71, R Sterne (Rsa) 69 73, M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 70 72, R Green (Aus) 67 75, S Kjeldsen (Den) 71 71, D Park 72 70, P Lawrie 69 73, J Kingston (Rsa) 69 73, P Wesselingh 71 71
143 - M Roe 70 73, B Davis 75 68, K Ferrie 73 70, P O'Malley (Aus) 69 74, R Gonzalez (Arg) 72 71, F Andersson (Swe) 69 74, B Austin 71 72, M Tunnicliff 69 74, P Lawrie 72 71, I Garrido (Spa) 67 76, A Scott (Aus) 69 74, J Sandelin (Swe) 71 72, R Drummond 74 69, P Hanson (Swe) 70 73
144 - G Orr 70 74, R Rock 72 72, B Lane 72 72, M Fraser (Aus) 71 73, R Russell 71 73, M Olander (Swe) 70 74, D Higgins 73 71, G McDowell 71 73, J M Olazabal (Spa) 72 72, S Gallacher 74 70
Missed cut: 145 - J M Lara (Spa) 75 70, R Chapman 73 72, P McGinley 71 74, S Hansen (Den) 74 71, A Coltart 67 78, B Dredge 73 72, J Edfors (Swe) 72 73, M Lemesurier 72 73, A Marshall 72 73, S Scahill (Nzl) 73 72, B Curtis (USA) 73 72, A Forsyth 73 72, N O'Hern (Aus) 71 74, H Otto (Rsa) 73 72
146 - M Maritz (Rsa) 74 72, M Foster 73 73, G Murphy 73 73, P Golding 71 75, J Moseley (Aus) 74 72, D Lynn 72 74, S Luna (Spa) 73 73, L Westwood 73 73, J Randhawa (Ind) 71 75, R Muntz (Ned) 76 70, S Little 73 73
147 - J Cheetham 76 71, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 70 77, Jonathan Lomas 73 74, D Mooney 74 73, T Immelman (Rsa) 74 73, A Oldcorn 75 72, S Fernandez (Arg) 73 74, M Al Martin (Spa) 72 75, P Simpson 74 73
148 - D Borrego (Spa) 76 72, P Fowler (Aus) 72 76, I Ellis 72 76, T Price (Aus) 72 76, I Pyman 71 77, R Karlsson (Swe) 71 77, B Kennedy (Aus) 75 73, S Wakefield 71 77, M Plummer 72 76, P Sjoland (Swe) 72 76, H Bjornstad (Nor) 75 73
149 - G Brand Jnr 73 76, J Van de Velde (Fra) 77 72, M Mackenzie 74 75, R-J Derksen (Ned) 77 72, M Hazelden 72 77, C Rocca (Ita) 76 73, S Struver (Ger) 70 79, M Blackey 74 75
150 - G Law 74 76, P Baker 75 75, Ml Campbell (Nzl) 74 76, T Dier (Ger) 75 75, L Thompson 72 78
151 - C Rodiles (Spa) 74 77, H Stenson (Swe) 75 76, M Brier (Aut) 77 74, S Henderson 76 75, G Evans 74 77, C Cevaer (Fra) 74 77, M Wiegele (Aut) 74 77
152 - P Broadhurst 78 74, T Johnstone (Zim) 73 79, N Dougherty 75 77
153 - P Cherry 77 76, C Schwartzel (Rsa) 74 79, J M Carriles (Spa) 76 77, G Havret (Fra) 77 76 154 E Canonica (Ita) 73 81, I Woosnam 72 82, M Tottey 77 77, D Robertson 80 74
155 - M McGuire 75 80, M Erlandsson (Swe) 79 76
156 - J Clement (Swi) 73 83, N Sato (Jpn) 77 79, D Shacklady 80 76
158 - D Greenwood 78 80 162 C Goodfellow 82 80
