Dougherty happy but Strange way ahead

May 31 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

A SECOND round 69 yesterday left Nick Dougherty on six under par 136, seven behind runaway leader Scott Strange at the halfway stage of the Wales Open at Celtic Manor near Newport.

“I’m pleased with what I’ve done, six under is in pretty good shape,” said Dougherty. “It’s just that one guy is stretched out in front, if he goes on in that kind of fashion he’s definitely going to win, but you just hope he doesn’t.”

Dougherty is two strokes ahead of Bromborough’s Paul Waring, who added a one over par 72 to his opening 66, while Southport’s Lee Slattery also made the cut on one under par 141 after rounds of 70-71.

Starting at the 11th on the new Twenty Ten Ryder Cup course, which is being used in a professional event for the first time, Dougherty dropped a couple of shots early on before he retrieved them in spectacular fashion when chipping in for an eagle two at the 413-yard par four 15th.

He said: “I hit through the back at the short 13th and two putted, then I hit an eight iron just over the back of the green at the next, chipped up to four feet and lipped out with the putt to drop another shot.”

On the 15th, which is a dog-leg par four, many of the pros are cutting the corner with a blind shot over the towering trees directly in front of the green. He said: “I hit thee-wood just short of the green and chipped it in from 25 yards for an eagle, which was nice, to get back to level.”

He picked up his first birdie at the fourth, his 12th, when he hit a three-wood down the middle and sank the putt, and is only other birdie came at the 213 yard seventh when he put his four iron to 12ft behind the hole and sank it.

“I had chances from distance at the last two and didn’t make them but I’m generally satisfied,” said Dougherty. “I didn’t play quite so well today but I’m a good position for the weekend.

“The greens are not great because it has been so wet, but sometimes you can putt well on dodgy greens so hopefully that will happen to me in the next couple of days.”

Waring also started at the par five 11th and immediately went six under the card with a birdie, pitching his third up to five feet and holing it.

“That was a nice way to start, then I birdied 14 with a fantastic six iron to four feet and rolled it in,” said the 23-year-old in his rookie year on tour. He dropped a shot at the 15th when he was in deep rough off the tee, hacked it out, put his third into a greenside bunker and then got up and down from there.

He pulled a shot back with a birdie at the 18th holing from seven feet, but then dropped it again at the first when he put his second into another greenside trap and this time didn’t get up and down.

A birdie followed at the long second when he pitched his third to within a foot of the hole and at seven under par with eight holes to play he was looking to move further up the leaderboard. But golf’s not like that.

“I got a bit of a flyer from a damp lie on the fairway at the fifth. I misjudged it by about 20 yards, which I’m not going to do. I must have got a little bit of water trapped between the club and the ball.

“It flew over the back of the green, I then hit an alright chip but didn’t hit my par putt hard enough and it came up short,” said Waring.

Then he notched up an ugly double bogey seven at the long ninth, his penultimate hole.

“I hit a good drive and then a three-wood into the greenside trap. It was an awkward lie and a bladed it out into the rough on the other side of the green. I hardly moved the ball with my fourth shot, got it on the first cut with my fifth and took two more to get down. But despite that I’m satisfied with my position. It’s good to make the cut.

“At least I’ve taken my opportunity and will get the chance to put some money on the board and climb up the order of merit,” said Waring, who is currently lying 153rd with 58,149 euros from nine starts.

Lee Slattery, who is 99th with 129,000euros from12 starts will improve his position after missing the cut in his last two events.

One under overnight he birdied the second to go two under but then dropped strokes at the fifth and sixth before parring all the way to the 18th, which he birdied for a one under par total of 141.

Phil Archer, who started the day at one under, never got on his game and a second round 75 saw him heading back home to Warrington.

Starting at the 11th he dropped shots at the 12th and 14th, birdied the 15th but dropped further shots at the third, eighth and his final hole the tenth for a three over total of 145.