IRELAND’S SHANE LOWRY leads heading into the third round of the Welsh Open.
Lowry carded an impressive second round 65 for a two-round total of 133 and a one-shot lead over first-round leader Joost Luiten of the Netherlands and Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts.
“I’m pretty happy,” Lowry told europeantour.com. “I’ve never, ever done well here before, so to be leading after two rounds is nice.
“There is still a long way to go in the tournament but I’m really looking forward to the weekend.
I didn’t drive it that good yesterday but still shot a decent score. I drove it a lot better today, drove it a lot straighter and gave myself a lot of chances and rolled in a few putts, so it was nice.
“I felt like coming over that I could give it a go this week. I was around tenth going into the back nine on Sunday last week, and similar the week before in Switzerland. If I can get myself in a good position come the back nine this weekend, again, hopefully I can give it a go.”
European Ryder Cup wild cards Stephen Gallacher and Lee Westwood experienced contrasting fortunes on Friday, one week out from the showdown with the United States.
Gallacher missed the cut at Celtic Manor with a two-round total of 148 to be 15 shots behind Lowry while Westwood survived the cut by two shots after second round 69 left him on 141 at the midway point.
“Thursday was quite tough,” Gallacher admitted after an opening round which had seen him finish on 78, seven over par.
“It was tough to get going and get my head around it but today was a lot better. I was maybe trying a wee bit too hard yesterday and still thinking about next week.”
The Scot said he still felt confident going into his maiden Ryder Cup appearance at Gleneagles next week.
I feel good, I’m physically and mentally good so I am really looking forward to next week. I’ve done my preparation for it and I just want to get up there and get going.”
Westwood, a veteran of eight Ryder Cups, recovered from an opening 73 with a 69 which featured two crucial birdies in the last four holes.
“I needed a couple more rounds,” Westwood said. “I was not particularly competitive yesterday, it was pretty scratchy, but today was more solid.
“I have been working on my game and been in the gym quite a lot, but I’m not quite match fit. I had three weeks off and you lose your sharpness.”
Another Ryder Cup player Jamie Donaldson maintained his chances of becoming the first Welsh winner of his national event with a second round 67 that left him five under.
