Three equal course record in New Zealand, McGrane sixth

Miles Tunnicliff, Niclas Fasth and Richard Green all equalled the course record as the feast of low scoring continued in the Holden New Zealand Open today.

Ireland's Damien McGrane raced up to joint sixth with a round of -11, while Peter Lawrie finished on eight under. Gary Murphy finished his round on par and missed the cut.

Tunnicliff set the clubhouse target at 14 under par with eight birdies and an eagle in a second round 63 at Gulf Harbour, matching the mark set by Scott Verplank and Patrik Sjoland in the 1998 World Cup.

Former Ryder Cup player Fasth then stormed home in just 30 strokes with back-to-back eagles to overtake Tunnicliff at 16 under, before Green chipped in on the 18th to finish 11 under.

England’s Oliver Wilson, a Challenge Tour graduate from Mansfield, had earlier carded a flawless 65 to lie third on 13 under, one stroke ahead of Australian Simon Nash.

Local favourite Michael Campbell added a 70 to his opening 73 but at one under was certain to miss the halfway cut.

A freshening breeze and light rain had threatened to make scoring more difficult for the later starters but Fasth birdied the second and eagled the sixth to be out in 33.

He then holed from 35ft for eagle on the 11th and holed a bunker shot from 25 yards on the next for another eagle.

“I did not realise I’d had three eagles today and it is certainly the first time I have had two in a row,” said Fasth, who endured a miserable year on the US Tour last season, missing the cut in 12 of his 21 events and recording just one top-20 finish.

“It was certainly a bit more windy today and playing tougher but I played very well and things seemed to go right.”

Fasth sprang to prominence by finishing second to David Duval in the 2001 Open at Royal Lytham, a performance which helped earn his place on the Ryder Cup team.

“At the time I was on top of scoring and fighting but I have never been this strong before when it comes to the basics,” added the 32-year-old, who won the Madeira Island Open in 2000.

Tunnicliff, winner of the Diageo Championship at Gleneagles in 2004, had looked a good bet to lead at the end of the day after closing with birdies at 17 and 18.

“I had not been playing that well coming into this tournament,” said Tunnicliff, who needed nine visits to the qualifying school before gaining his European Tour card.

“It is only my third event and I was a bit rusty but I started feeling more comfortable yesterday and got the putter working and that made the difference.

“The last few holes were pretty tough with the wind starting to blow. This course needs wind to protect it and it changes the course completely. If you miss it on the wrong side of the green you can have an impossible chip shot.”

Wilson only turned professional 18 months ago after helping Britain and Ireland retain the Walker Cup in 2003.

After failing to win his card at the US Tour school, he turned to the European Challenge Tour last year and won the 15th and final card with a second place in Italy and six other top 10s.

“It is great to be so close to the lead,” said the 24-year-old. “I am not too used to it so it is all a bit of a new experience.

“It was nice to see my name at the top of the leaderboard and I would be surprised if it was not there at the end of the day with the wind getting up.”