Thomas Björn delivered an ominous warning to the rest of the field that he is back to his best by moving smoothly into the lead in the weather-delayed Sarazen World Open at PGA Golf de Cataluyna, Barcelona, today (Friday).
The 27 year old Dane, who played just nine events in the first half of the year due to injury and the arrival of his first child, added a 69 to his opening 66 for a two round total of 135, nine under par, before the threat of an electrical storm halted play with 57 players still on the course.
Earlier in the day, thick mist had delayed the start of the second round by three hours, but once Björn teed off, he showed he meant business. He hasn’t won on the European Tour for 18 months, but insisted: “I am playing very solid golf and feel very comfortable on the course again. That’s good.
“I couldn’t buy a putt today and 69 was the worst I could have shot. I am keeping myself more calm on the course and can sense that things are happening again. I am moving in the right direction.”
Björn, who holds a one stroke lead over fellow countryman and close friend, Steen Tinning and Thomas Levet of France, needs to climb one place to 20th on the Volvo Order of Merit to earn a place in the American Express Championship at Valderrama next month and to jump 24 places in the World Rankings to return to the top 50.
“That’s my aim – to get to Valderrama and play my way into the top 50 so that I can get into the majors and the World Championship events” he declared. “Winning is the only way to do that.”
Tinning, 37, and still without a win on the European Tour, is finally being rewarded for a season halted in cruel fashion by the golf ball of a Sunday ‘hacker’ during a company day in his native Denmark.
He missed seven weeks in May and June after being hit on the right thumb by a full-blooded drive struck by an amateur. He said: “I was collecting balls on the range when this drive hit me from just 30 yards away. It was agony and I was in a plaster cast for seven weeks.
“The bone was crushed and the whole thing broke the rhythm of my season. I can still feel it sore on occasions and it’s proved to be an expensive lesson for me.”
Tinning moved within a shot of Björn thanks to a 67 containing four birdies and an eagle, while Levet had just 25 putts in a round of 68.
They are, in turn, one stroke in front of Spanish-based Englishman Miles Tunnicliff, who fired a 69 for 137 alongside Londoner Peter Mitchell, who carded a 70.
The second round will resume at 7.40 BST on Saturday morning.
