Woosnam heads for Wales hat-trick

Woosnam is enjoying the Welsh crowd

The partisan Welsh crowds were delighted as home favourite Ian Woosnam closed in on a Wales Open victory.

Woosnam added a second round 69 to his opening 68 for a halfway total of 137, seven under par, to claim a share of the lead.

If he does win at Celtic Manor on Sunday it will mean a hat-trick of victories on home soil spanning three different decades.

Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty was alongside the Welshman after a spectacular eagle-birdie-birdie finish in his 67, with Manchester's Ross McFarlane and Denmark's Steen Dinning a shot further back.

They cheer every putt that goes in and they're willing me to win. Hopefully I can do it

Ian Woosnam

Woosnam, who won the second of his 28 European Tour titles at St Pierre, Chepstow, in 1983 and won over the same course again in 1990, was delighted to be back in front of his home fans for the first time since 1991.

"It's nice to have the crowds behind you, to hear that Welsh accent coming out shouting `Come on Woosie' and they were willing my putts in," said Woosnam,

"They cheer every putt that goes in and they're willing me to win. Hopefully I can do it.

"It helps you to maintain your concentration a little bit and give that bit extra.

"Maybe that's what I need, to knuckle down and concentrate a bit harder, especially on the last six holes of this course.

"It would mean a lot to win in Wales in three different decades but any win anywhere I would accept at the moment."

Malaria worry

Woosnam has not won since 1997 but was third and seventh in last two events.

McNulty looked to pose no threat to the lead as he went to the turn level par for the day, two under in total, but he stormed home in 31 for a 67 to join Woosnam at the head of the field.

The 46-year-old, whose last wins on the European Tour came in 1996, birdied the 13th and then holed his approach to the 16th from 108 yards for an eagle two, before closing with two more birdies for a remarkable finish.

He is playing in only his eighth event of the season after a three-month break when he feared he had contracted malaria in his native Zimbabwe.

"I spent two weeks in Zimbabwe and three days later I felt so ill I thought my body was going to explode from heat," he said.

"I had a temperature of 105 degrees for three days which is positively dangerous and all the perfect symptoms of malaria.

"Then they thought it was meningitis but in the end put it down to a spectacular virus!"

Scores

Collated scores and totals in second round of The Wales Open, Celtic Manor Resort (Gbr & Irl unless stated, Par 72)
137 I Woosnam 68 69, M McNulty (Zim) 70 67
138 R McFarlane 70 68, S Tinning (Den) 70 68
139 N O'Hern (Aus) 71 68, M James 67 72, R Russell 70 69, D Howell 72 67,F Jacobson (Swe) 71 68, I Garbutt 68 71
140 M Anglert (Swe) 72 68, D Park 69 71
141 P Nyman (Swe) 72 69, J Spence 71 70, B Rumford (Aus) 70 71, P Price 71 70, R Winchester 70 71, C Suneson (Spa) 70 71, N Vanhootegem (Bel) 7071, A Hansen (Den) 68 73
142 T Levet (Fra) 69 73, G Brand Jnr 72 70, P Walton 72 70, RJ Derksen (Ned) 72 70, M Lafeber (Ned) 73 69, I Pyman 67 75, H Nystrom (Swe) 71 71,S Richardson 73 69, A Wall 70 72, R Chapman 69 73, B Lane 69 73, J Haeggman (Swe) 71 71
143 S Allan (Aus) 74 69, A Beal 74 69, J Robinson 70 73, V Phillips 74 69, P Eales 72 71, R Coles 64 79, S Kjeldsen (Den) 72 71, R Dinsdale 73 70
144 R Drummond 70 74, J Senden (Aus) 69 75, P McGinley 77 67, W Yeh(Taiwan) 72 72, S Torrance 73 71, D Carter 76 68, M Jonzon (Swe) 74 70, A Oldcorn 70 74, M Cain (Aus) 73 71, P Affleck 74 70, S Dyson 72 72, I Giner (Spa) 67 77, D Lee 74 70, J Moseley (Aus) 72 72, D Lynn 71 73, T Gogele (Ger) 73 71
145 A Forsyth 73 72, M Farry (Fra) 73 72, G Orr 71 74, S Hansen (Den) 7273, M Mouland 74 71, S Wakefield 70 75, D Hospital (Spa) 73 72, R Green (Aus) 74 71
146 P O'Malley (Aus) 75 71, A Coltart 72 74, L Parsons (Aus) 72 74, G Evans 72 74, M Plummer 72 74, E Boult (Nzl) 71 75, R Wessels (Rsa) 70 76,F Lindgren (Swe) 74 72, P Golding 70 76, S Leaney (Aus) 72 74, P Fulke (Swe) 71 75, P Baker 70 76, D Robertson 71 75, M Litton 70 76
Missed the cut:
147 G Emerson 74 73, JM Singh (Ind) 73 74, B Davis 75 72, D De Vooght (Bel) 73 74, M Brier (Aut) 73 74, M Mackenzie 75 72, S Field 74 73, J Mellor 75 72, M Eliasson (Swe) 72 75, R Gonzalez (Arg) 72 75, F Tarnaud (Fra) 72 75, S Lyle 70 77, W Riley (Aus) 76 71, S Gallacher 70 77, M Scarpa (Ita) 73 74
148 J Payne 75 73, F Roca (Spa) 77 71, G Ryall 77 71, R Byrd (USA) 72 76,S Little 73 75, D Cooper 77 71, G Storm 74 74, D Smyth 73 75, B Dredge 78 70, R Johnson (Swe) 73 75, P Way 74 74, S Rowe (USA) 74 74, I Hutchings (Rsa) 73 75
149 R Rafferty 74 75, J Bickerton 74 75, O Edmond (Fra) 76 73, S Watson 77 72, T Carolan (Aus) 74 75, A Binaghi (Ita) 75 74, C Rocca (Ita) 71 78, M Davis 74 75, M Florioli (Ita) 74 75, A Butterfield 74 75, D Borrego (Spa) 76 73
150 A Raitt 75 75, G Murphy 75 75, D Chopra (Swe) 76 74, JM Carriles (Spa) 73 77, M Lanner (Swe) 75 75, K Storgaard (Den) 74 76, B Teilleria (Fra) 73 77, R Jacquelin (Fra) 75 75, G Hamerton 76 74, J Skold (Swe) 73 77, P Archer 75 75
151 M Blackey 74 77, M Tunnicliff 76 75, S Delagrange (Fra) 75 76, O Karlsson (Swe) 79 72, P Mitchell 77 74, T Johnstone (Zim) 73 78, N Cheetham 76 75, C Hainline (USA) 72 79, N Ludwell 73 78, S Hurley 78 73
152 F Cea (Spa) 77 75, G Hutcheon 75 77, E Little 76 76, T Gillis (USA) 80 72
153 J Wade (Aus) 78 75, W Bennett 77 76, S Bebb 73 80, P Fowler (Aus) 76 77
154 A Sherborne 76 78, S Cage 76 78
155 H Otto (Rsa) 78 77, S Dodd 80 75
156 K Spurgeon 74 82
157 J Rose 78 79
159 K Carissimi (USA) 84 75
Withdrawn: R Muntz (Ned), E Darcy Ret: S Ballesteros (Spa)