(Reuters) - Former double Masters Tournament Champion José Maria Olazábal signalled his intent to clinch his first win of the 2005 season when he carded a seven under par 65 to take a share of the lead with England’s Anthony Wall at the halfway stage of the Linde German Masters.
An eight birdie second round took the Spaniard to 11 under par 133 and alongside Wall who produced some of the best golf of the day, a sparkling 62 being only two shots shy of the Gut Lärchenhof course record, set by Fredrik Jacobson in 2003.
The leading duo are a shot in front of Wall’s fellow Englishman Paul Casey, who carded a 67 for a ten under par total of 134, while four players share fourth place – double US Open Champion Retief Goosen, Zimbabwe’s Marc Cayeux, who only got into the tournament at the last minute after the withdrawal of Emanuele Canonica, and two further Englishmen Nick Dougherty and David Lynn.
Earlier in the week Olazábal had doubted that the course suited him but a combination of accurate driving and a hot putter earned him his best display since the The Open Championship at St Andrews in July where he threatened winner Tiger Woods for long spells.
Olazábal is enjoying a reasonable season both sides of the Atlantic, but without a win and he has double reason to break through, with Europe's Ryder Cup campaign now in full-swing.
"Everybody is eager to play in the Ryder Cup and I would love to be in it again," Olazabal said after a round which included putts of 40ft, 30ft and 25ft and three 12 footers. "If I don't get into the team it will hurt like it did the last two times but if I don't make it, I'm not going to throw myself off a bridge."
Partnering Olazábal in Saturday’s final two ball will be Wall who owed his prominence to a superb second round 62 which featured a back nine of 29, a run which included six birdies in a row from the tenth.
“I just concentrated so hard out there and it was a lovely day out there for me,” said Wall. “It is so hard out there and it is such a tough course if you miss the fairways but I managed to avoid doing that for most of the day.
“I have improved a lot in the last couple of years. My game feels twice as good as it has ever done and the reason for that is my brain. It is your biggest club and I started working with a new psychologist Nick Hastings last Friday.
“He is a nice guy and also works with Michael Campbell. I wanted to work on a few new ideas and have a little more clarity in my mind before I hit the shot and it is working well. I managed to stay focused and positive.”
Casey continued his return to form with another 67, all down to getting his confidence back because of playing for Ryder Cup points.
In the race to be Number One on The European Tour Order of Merit, Goosen has the edge after a 68 left the current Number Two five shots better than current Number One
Michael Campbell.
Goosen, winner of the Order of Merit in both 2001 and 2002, is not far behind the New Zealander and is sharpening up his swing in a bid for a third title. "Not many people have won it three times,” he said. “These next few weeks are going to be very important because if you win one of the events it is going to be tough for your rivals to catch you."
