Padraig Harrington happy to stay in contention in Czech Masters
Padraig Harrington was pleased to stay in contention as the Czech Masters reaches its halfway stage.
His four-under-par round of 68 saw the three-time major winner move to 10 under par and a share of second place.
Given the tricky early conditions in Prague, Harrington was happy with his second round: “Conditions are tougher, obviously it was raining early on at times and it was a much tougher day.
The par-fives weren’t as accessible as yesterday, so I’m very pleased with the score, to be honest.
Malaysia’s Gavin Green will take a slender lead into the third round as the battle for Ryder Cup places continues to simmer in Prague.
Green added a second round of 68 to his opening 64 for a halfway total of 12 under par and one-shot lead over Denmark’s Jeff Winther, with Thomas Pieters, Harrington, Andrea Pavan, and Tapio Pulkkanen a shot further back.
Pieters needs to rely on a wild card to claim a place in the European side which will seek to regain the Ryder Cup in Paris next month, while England’s Eddie Pepperell, who could move into the automatic qualifying places with a win at Albatross Golf Resort, is five off the pace after a 71.
It’s fun to be leader and it’s been a while since I’ve been in this position so I’m going to enjoy it,” said Green, who is seeking a first European Tour title. “My dad’s on the bag so we’re going to have a nice dinner maybe and a good sleep and continue tomorrow.
“I kept to the same game plan as yesterday, hitting the driver everywhere and being pretty aggressive, and I was in the rough a couple of times and the fairway a couple of times.
“It’s nice having wedges into par fours though, makes it a little bit easier and you can control the spin. That gives you a lot better looks at birdie so I controlled it well and did pretty well so I’m happy.”
Pieters won a record four points on his Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine in 2016 after being given a wild card by captain Darren Clarke following a runners-up finish in Prague and victory in Denmark the following week.
“It was obviously more difficult with the wind today but I didn’t make enough putts,” Pieters said after shooting a 70 alongside Ryder Cup vice-captain Harrington.
“It was a disappointing finish, missing two short ones coming in, but overall I’m not unhappy with the position I’m in going into the weekend. I’ve been striking it really well, it’s just the putting that has let me down so I need a good putting week and I really like the greens here.”
