Dartnall leads Wu, Brown at Midea China Classic
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Australian Stephen Dartnall shot a two-under-par 69 to move seven-under and snatch the outright lead at the halfway stage of the US$1 million Midea China Classic, OneAsia's eighth event of the year.
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Stephen Dartnall. |
China's Wu Kangchun shot an early 69 to set the clubhouse lead at six-under and was joined by Mitchell Brown after the 25-year-old Australian shot a bogey-free 66 at Royal Orchid International Golf Club in Shunde, south of Guangzhou.
American C.J. Gatto moved to five-under after a 70 and lies fourth with first-round co-leaders Andre Stolz and Brad Kennedy, who each shot 72 over the 6,893-yard layout.
Former PGA Tour regular Stephen Allan (71) and fellow Australians Steve Jeffress (72) and Ashley Hall (70) share seventh a further shot back.
Defending champion Liang Wenchong disappointed his fans by bogeying two of the last three holes to return a 71 and stay three-under, in a share of 10th place.
Dartnall was level with Wu and Brown at six-under before the blond 26-year-old birdied the par-five 18th to take top spot.
"It was good to finish with a birdie, but it's not such a big deal to be leading. It's only halfway, so it doesn't mean too much," Dartnall said.
"I've scrambled well. Any time you miss the fairway here, even just by a bit, it can be a battle as the rough is very thick. However, it will be great to play in the final flight on Saturday, so I'm looking forward to that."
Wu, who opened with a 67, led the Chinese charge for the second day despite starting with a bogey at the 10th and recording another at 14. After bouncing back with birdies at 16 and 18, he bogeyed hole one before rallying again with birdies at two, six and eight, where he holed a 25-foot downhill putt.
"My second nine was good today and I felt luckier. I've been good at playing out of the rough, as I know the grass well because I'm from Guangdong," said Wu, who lives in nearby Zhuhai.
The two-time Asian Games representative is in good form after finishing eighth in July's Indonesia Open presented by Enjoy Jakarta on OneAsia and winning the China Unicom Pro-Am in Beijing in August.
"My putting has been good since I used a new putter at the Indonesia Open. I've been more confident since then and won in Beijing, so I've already reached my money target for the year," said Wu, who won the 2007 Sofitel Championship in Nanjing in his rookie pro season.
"It has given me more confidence in my game and more incentive to train harder and harder, so I feel confident I can compete with international players."
Gatto recently won his first pro title at the Hong Kong PGA Championship before competing in last week's Kolon Korea Open on OneAsia. The Shenzhen-based 25-year-old then played a three-day HKPGA event in Dongguan from Monday to Wednesday before arriving in Shunde in the evening.
