ANOTHER LATE BLIP cost Padraig Harrington four shots and his place at the business end of the leaderboard on day two of the Volvo Golf Champions in South Africa.
A double-bogey on the final hole yesterday denied the Dubliner a blemish-free opening round as he dropped back into a tie for fifth place on four under-par overnight.
And it was another double-bogey on the same hole which again proved to be his undoing on day two, as Harrington took seven at the last and finished the day with a level par round of 73.
That final blunder followed bogeys on 16 and on 17, undoing all of Harrington’s hard work from earlier in the day, when he made five birdies in eight holes to surge to within a shot of the lead.
South Africa’s Branden Grace leads at the halfway stage. Grace tore up the Fancourt course with a round of seven under-par 66 to establish a four-shot cushion between himself and his nearest contenders, fellow countryman Thomas Aiken and Lee Slattery of England.
Slattery’s 65 was the best round of the day, jumping the 33-year-old up from 22nd place to a share of second as well as earning him a new car for his troubles.
“That’s probably my best round out there, one I’m going to remember for the rest of my life,” Slattery told EuropeanTour.com afterwards. “I’ve had about 12 holes-in-one, but have never won a car before.”
Harrington is eight shots off the lead on four under, alongside 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke who made amends for a disappointing first round to card a five under-par 68 on day two.
