He may be Strange by name but there was nothing remotely odd about Scott Strange as the Australian continued his superb golf to power into the lead in the second round of The Celtic Manor Wales Open.
The 30 year old Australian, who led the field after his excellent opening round of 63 on The Twenty Ten Course on Thursday, continued to set the pace after adding a 66 for a 13 under par total of 129 to open up a four shot lead over the English duo of Benn Barham and Robert Dinwiddie along with India’s Jeev Milkha Singh and Spain’s Alvaro Velasco in a tie for second position on nine under 133.
Robert Karlsson, the 2006 Celtic Manor Wales Open champion, will go into the weekend looking to better his three consecutive third place finishes in his last three appearances on The European Tour International Schedule.
The Swede joined Argentina’s Rafa Echenique, Raphaël Jacquelin of France, England’s Ross McGowan and Italy’s Edoardo Molinari on eight under 134, but it was Strange who grabbed the halfway headlines with his brilliant 13 under 36 hole aggregate.
“I’m not too used to these wet conditions coming from Australia but I guess you just have to try to adapt to what you've got,” said Strange, twice a winner on the Asian Tour before turning his attentions to The European Tour.
“Playing here is different and playing in Asia, as well, is different than here. It's a lot cooler and there's more moisture in the grass, but I'm adapting quite well.
“Winning a tournament on The European Tour is going to have to happen and you have to learn to deal with it and come Sunday, if you've sort of been around it enough and know how to deal with it, you'll have a better chance of pulling one off.”
Dinwiddie, who will play alongside Strange in the final group of the third round over the Twenty Ten Course at the Celtic Manor Resort, is in a similar position to the man he is trying to overhaul at the top of the leaderboard: searching for that breakthrough victory that so many players feel is the toughest of them all.
The 25 year old has been improving throughout the season, and gave a glimpse of what he is capable of at the BMW PGA Championship last week, when his stunning second round of nine under par 63 set a new course record for the world famous West Course at Wentworth Club.
Dinwiddie was at it again in the second round in Wales, posting an excellent 65, including an eagle three on the oar five 18th hole to ensure a place alongside Strange in the final group of the day.
“I didn’t actually hit that good a drive on the 18th,” said Dinwiddie. “I kind of looped it out to the right a little bit and thought I was going to be too far back to go for it in two but calculated and I had 250 yards to the front of the green and just hit a three wood in there to about six feet and holed the putt.”
Of the three men tied on nine under par, Barham produced the most polished second round display, a sumptuous seven under par 64 – one better than Dinwiddie’s fine 65 – that propelled the Englishman into contention.
“It's been a tough few weeks for me,” said Barham who had endured a poor run of results. “I kind of sat myself down, had a bit of a talk to myself and worked out where I'm going to go, because I couldn't carry on and do what I was doing. I have made a few changes, and it's nice when you do that and it pays off so quickly – it’s very pleasing.”
