Jacobson on target

Swedish golfer Fredrik Jacobson has come a long way in the four years since he lost his European tour card – and he hopes to go a lot further.

The 29-year-old, who took a two-stroke lead into the second round of the Volvo Masters at Valderrama today after his brilliant opening 64, had to go back to the qualifying school after finishing 127th on the Order of Merit in 1999.

He then missed three months at the start of the following season after breaking his left thumb playing for a team of golf professionals against tennis players at ice hockey.

His first tour title – after six runners-up finishes – came in Hong Kong last December. But that was followed by a wrist injury which kept him out of action for another three months.

Jacobson returned at the Portuguese Open in April and amazingly won that as well, chipping in no fewer than three times in his final round.

Last month at the German Masters he became the only player on either side of the Atlantic to have a round of 60 – and now he has the chance to leap from 14th to fourth on the final money list.

Whatever happens, though, all but one of the goals Jacobson set himself this season have been achieved – and the other, to win a major, was asking an awful lot.

“Apart from that I wanted to make the top 50 in the world [he has advanced from 83rd to 41st, top 15 in Europe, have two wins and score under 63.”

Only two others broke 70 yesterday. Denmark’s Anders Hansen, last man into this week’s event for the top 60 on the Order of Merit, produced a 66 – and Spaniard Carlos Rodiles a 68.

Pre-tournament favourites Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke certainly do not want to be 12 and 13 behind, and it could have been worse for Harrington. After a triple-bogey seven on the 16th, he was six over but came back with two birdies.

Paul Casey, who lost the Madrid Open from four ahead with a round to go last weekend, was alongside Clarke on 77 – he was actually six over after just four holes – while Lee Westwood, winner at Montecastillo in 1997, began with a 75.

Fifteen of the 57 players were worse than that, making Jacobson’s score all the more impressive – and he agreed.

“With the wind, I never expected such a score,” he said.

“Anything under par was very good.”

Colin Montgomerie, joint winner of the title last year when his play-off with Bernhard Langer was halted by darkness, was keeping his fingers crossed that a recurrence of back trouble was not going to affect his chances.

It came on with the 40-year-old Scot three under after 13 holes, and he bogeyed the 15th and 17th to slip to joint sixth on one under.

“It is a bit stiff and came on just as I was playing well, but it is nothing untoward,” he said immediately after the round. “I will get some physio.”

He was one of Jacobson’s playing partners when he shot 60 last month – and while impressed by his score again, he added: “There is a long way to go.

“I don’t want to be seven behind, but sixth is exactly where I want to be.”

He knows there is a lot of work to be done yet, though. After his opening 60 in Cologne, he did not break 70 the next three days and finished 19th.