FREDDIE JACOBSON PLAYED the PGA Tour for eight years before claiming his first victory. Now, a mere four months removed from that breakthrough– at June’s Traveler’s Championship– the Swede is hoping to add a second title to his Tour resume.
With a swing that wouldn’t look out of place at a local driving range– an ungainly, bobbing mass of limbs– Jacobson has always relied heavily on his short game to remain competitive. This week, however, recent improvements in his ball-striking have begun to pay dividends.
Jacobsen carded a 67 in the first round, two shy of the pace set by USPGA champion Keegan Bradley, and followed it up with a flawless 66 that included a stunning four-iron approach to the ninth green, the catalyst for a final, pace-setting birdie.
The next name on the leaderboard, a shot adrift of the Swede’s 11-under-par total, is that of 2010 Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen. The South African carded a bogey-free 63 on Friday, the lowest round of both his career and the tournament to date.
The major winner was typically calm in post-round interview with GOLF.com.
“If you’re hitting good shots, you get rewarded,” Oosthuizen said. “There’s a few holes where you can take it on or lay it up. Today, I really didn’t take much risk. I just made the birdie putts.”
Oosthuizen’s second-round form evokes memories of his devastating form at St. Andrew’s a little over a year ago, but the rest of the leaderboard is not without pedigree.
Tied with the South African on 10-under-par is Austalia’s Adam Scott. The former world number three has, in the past, proven himself more than capable of competing and winning in Asia.
First-round leader Keegan Bradley lies a shot further back on nine-under.
Paul Casey, who competes this week in the hope of regaining his US Tour card; Martin Kaymer; Lee Westwood and Graeme McDowell all lie within five shots of Jacobson’s lead.
The form of McDowell, in particular, comes as something of a surprise. The former US Open champion carded two successive rounds in the 80s during last week’s Andalcucia Masters at Valderrama and, after a much publicised bout of soul-searching, ventured to China in hope rather than expectation of an encouraging finish.
Rory McIlroy, who hoped to use this week’s event as a means of leap-frogging the absent Luke Donald on the European Tour Order of Merit, improved on his modest opening round to reach an aggregate total of five-under-par.
Dunhill Links Champion Michael Hoey sits in a tie for 59th.
