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TENERIFE (Spain), April 25: Paul Casey surged into a share of the early second round lead in the Canaries Spanish Open on Friday.
Casey and fellow Briton Miles Tunnicliff shot seven-under-par 65s to move to 15-under-par 129 and keep double major winner Jose Maria Olazabal at bay, two shots behind.
Olazabal carded a 67 to share third place with fellow Spaniard Santiago Luna, and surprise contenders Simon Kahn of Britain and Ireland’s Peter Lawrie.
After earning the 2001 rookie of the year award with a maiden win in the Scottish PGA Championship, Casey had a quiet 2002, ending 46th on the rankings.
He won the co-sanctioned ANZ Championship in early February and now wants to into the world’s top 50 and seal a place in the European Ryder Cup team next year.
Compiling eight birdies playing alongside Seve Ballesteros, Casey is clearly finding his form. “Everything I’m doing is aimed towards the Ryder Cup,” said Casey.
Tunnicliff came from Challenge Tour obscurity to clinch last year’s Great North Open.
The Golf Costa Adeje course continued to be easy prey for the field. Only two players on the morning scoreboard were over par for the tournament, with the cut threatening to be lower than the tour record five-under.
Olazabal, who has been trying to win his home open since 1985, felt that would make it even harder for him to win.
COUPLES TAKES LEAD
HUMBLE (Texas): Fred Couples, winless since 1998, put together a string of birdies to record a seven-under-par 65 on Thursday and take a one-stroke lead in the weather-delayed $4.5 million Houston Open.
Couples leads Australia’s Stuart Appleby by one shot over the 7,508-yard Redstone Golf Club.
Carl Paulson and Tom Pernice Jr. are also on six-under but were unable to complete their rounds before dark.
Play was suspended for three hours and 28 minutes because of lightning from thunder storms.
World number six Vijay Singh of Fiji heads a group on five-under 67 that includes Peter Jacobsen, co-designer of Redstone, and Argentina’s Jose Coceres.
South Africa’s Ernie Els, the world number two, fired a 69 and Phil Mickelson returned a 70.
Couples, whose last victory came in the 1998 Memorial, has stepped up his play this year after several lean seasons.
Couples averaged 313.5 yards off the tee and that garnered him only a tie for 17th in the field in that category.
Starting on the the back nine, Couples went out in two-under but started sinking birdie putts on his back nine. At the second hole, he sank a 15-footer, at the third a 30-footer.
Leading scores (U.S. unless stated):
65 Fred Couples
66 Stuart Appleby (Australia)
67 Vijay Singh (Fiji), Jose Coceres (Argentina), Peter Jacobsen, David Berganio, Jr.
68 Andrew Magee, Adam Scott (Australia), Rory Sabbatini (South Africa), Ian Legatt (Canada), Brandt Jobe, Deane Pappas (South Africa), John Morgan (Britain), Patrick Sheehan
69 Woody Austin, Jonathan Kaye, Jerry Kelly, John Daly, Matt Kuchar, Ben Crane, Kevin Sutherland, Ernie Els (South Africa), Paul Goydos, Neal Lancaster, Jeff Brehaut, Hank Kuehne
70 John Riegger, Geoff Ogilvy (Australia), Alex Cejka (Czech Republic), K.J. Choi (South Korea), Phil Mickelson, Heath Solcum, Brian Henninger, Trevor Immelman (South Africa), Richard Johnson (Sweden), Shaun Micheel—Reuters
