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Swedes lead in Munich

Niclas Fasth's US Open form helped him shoot a near faultless seven under 65 for a two-shot halfway lead in the BMW International…

Fri Jun 22 2007 - 01:00

Niclas Fasth's US Open form helped him shoot a near faultless seven under 65 for a two-shot halfway lead in the BMW International Open.

The Swede, fresh from his fourth place finish at Oakmont, surged to 12 under 132 in the weather-affected second round at Eichenried with a masterful putting display.

His fellow-countryman Peter Hanson had set the target earlier after a two-hour suspension for bad weather, carding a 66 for 10 under, which was good enough for second place.

Hanson finished a stroke better than Frenchman Thomas Levet (67), Argentine Andres Romero (68) and one of the first round leaders, Jose Filipe Lima of Portugal (70).

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Peter Lawrie is best of the Irish on six under after a 67, with David Higgins two under after a 69.  Damien McGrane and Gary Murphy have both missed the cut on four and seven over respectively.

Leader Fasth said he was on a high after finishing only two strokes behind winner Angel Cabrera in the U.S. Open and had found more luck on the Eichenried greens, using up only 25 putts compared to 32 in the first round.

"Obviously last week gave me a bit of confidence," Fasth told reporters. "Yesterday, I played some of my best golf ever but my putts seemed to stop on the edge of the cup. Today they dropped, that was the biggest difference."

While Fasth was able to relax after four gruelling days in the US Open last week, he pointed out that winning in Munich might not be that much easier than winning at Oakmont.

"It will be just as hard winning here because you need to make a lot of birdies. But you do have a breather here, unlike last week," he said.

Last year's Munich champion Henrik Stenson of Sweden, who missed the cut in the US Open, bounced back to form with a 66 to lie five under.

Stenson is still unsure whether he will finish the tournament, with his wife Emma expecting their first child at any moment.

Bernhard Langer, 49, free of the neck pain that hindered him in the first round, produced a battling 66 to finish two under. This week's event is the only German European Tour tournament Langer has never won.