Evans joint second after terrific 66
On the day Great Britain were predictably swept aside by Australia in the Davis Cup down the road in western Sydney, Evans shot a 66 to nestle into the upper reaches of a crowded leaderboard.
Evans was tied for second on 21 points with Craig Parry, Jarrod Moseley and New Zealand’s Richard Lee, the only other non-Australian in the top eight.
After 36 holes on the coastal links of the New South Wales Golf Club, the quartet were one point adrift of the four Australians leading on 22 points.
Nathan Green and Brendan Jones set the standard early on and were joined by compatriots Nick O’Hern and then Terry Price with a late surge.
The tournament is one of only two in the world to employ the modified stableford scoring
system, used to encourage attacking golf. A birdie wins two points, an eagle five and with a par being zero and a bogey only minus one, the onus is on the players to attack the pin.
“I’m happy with my performance so far,” said Evans, who sunk five birdies and an eagle in a round of 66 which, translated into the tournament’s modified stableford scoring format won him 14 points.
Evans, who played particularly well to finish tied for fourth at the Heineken Classic last week, birdied his first four holes to race onto 15 points.
Having started on the back nine, he atoned for his one bogey with an eagle three on the fifth followed by a birdie on the sixth to jump onto 21 points.
An incredible 26 players are separated by just five points, or an eagle. Sweden’s Robert Karlsson was alone on 20 points, one ahead of a seven strong pack that included first round leader Peter Fowler and another experienced Australian, Peter Senior.
Stuart Appleby struggled on the home stretch, registering three bogeys in four holes before an out-of-bounds drive on the last cost him three points. Appleby finished with Matthew Ecob and England’s Paul Casey on 18 points.
Moseley enjoyed the round of the day, shooting a 64 worth 18 points just 24 hours after a 72 which had spawned as many birdies as bogeys.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
