American Harold Varner III and Adri Arnaus from Spain upstaged many of the game’s elite players to take the lead after Round Two of the PIF Saudi International powered by SoftBank Investment Advisers today after shooting four-under-par 66s to reach 10 under.
They lead by two from Australian Cameron Smith and Matthew Wolff from the United States, after they returned 66 and 67 respectively, in the season-opening event on the 2022-23 Asian Tour schedule.
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England’s Tommy Fleetwood is a shot further back after carding a 67 on another windy day at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club.
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Overnight leader Matteo Manassero from Italy came in with a 73 and fell back to five under, defending champion Dustin Johnson from the United States shot 71 and is four under while Korean star Joohyung Kim, who won the Asian Tour Order of Merit title last month, returned a 73 and is two under.
“I played really solid,” said Varner, who was paired with Wolff.
“It wasn’t blowing as hard this morning, so I didn’t think it was gettable, but obviously in my group it was pretty gettable, so just trying to hang in there and just give myself a chance.”
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Varner, who began on the back nine, started poorly and was one over for his round after seven holes but then birdied four out of his next five holes.
He added: “I think you’ve got to drive it really well. It’s [the course] forgiving off the tee, but when it’s blowing this hard, the lines get a little bit tighter, and you’ve just got to keep hitting good shots.”
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Big-hitting Arnaus is looking for his first big win in the pro game after impressing over the past few years and is no stranger to this week’s venue.
“I’ve been playing this course now for a few years and starting to get the hang of it. Even on this wind, I’ve already seen it in the past, so I know my lines,” said the Spaniard.
“That doesn’t mean that a few shots might not go your way, and that’s what happened on the front nine. On the back nine, we kept it quite well in play. So that’s the important part, just putting yourself in a good spot and from there trying to attack.”
Smith, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour including the Sentry Tournament of Champions last month, made his move while enjoying the blustery conditions.
“I like it windy,” said the Australian, who played on the Asian Tour in 2014.
“I grew up in the wind. Being from Australia, it’s something you kind of have to get used to pretty quick. Yeah, you’ve just got to strike the ball well. You’ve just got to hit it out of the middle and judge your wind.”
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Wolff raced into the front early on after playing his first nine in four under, helped by an eagle on the par-five 18th, before three bogies in a row from the fifth saw him slip back.
He said: “My ball-striking is really coming along, which is probably the thing that I know that I can depend on the most, and it’s really nice to see that paying off. I’m definitely in a great position for the weekend. I definitely feel like I left some out there, but I guess going into the weekend, that might be a good thing because if I can tighten up some of those mistakes, I might be able to hold the trophy at the end. I feel really happy with where I’m at, and hopefully if I just don’t miss a couple short putts I’ll be in a good spot.”
Fleetwood was more than happy with his start and what he is working on.
“I’m working on the right things,” said the Englishman.
“Got a good structure, good simple structure. Focusing on a couple of key areas, trying to drive it better, and at the moment just trying to hit one shot off the tee and put it in play more and give myself a chance to play from the fairways a lot more. And doing that really, being focused on it.”
Thailand’s amateur sensation Ratchanon Chantananuwat continued he remarkable run of making the cut in every professional event he has played in when he carded a 71.
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The 14 year old, who placed third in The Singapore International on the Asian Tour last month, is level par for the tournament having opened with a 69.
At the start of the day American Bryson DeChambeau withdrew from the event with a left hand and left hip injury.
Top Round 2 scores
130 – Harold Varner III (USA) 64-66, Adri Arnaus (ESP) 64-66.
132 – Cameron Smith (AUS) 66-66, Matthew Wolff (USA) 65-67.
133 – Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) 66-67.
134 – J.C. Ritchie (RSA) 68-66, Bubba Watson (USA) 64-70, Ryosuke Kinoshita (JPN) 64-70.
135 – Steve Lewton (ENG) 68-67, Wade Ormsby (AUS) 68-67, Xander Schauffele (USA) 67-68, Patrick Reed (USA) 66-69, Matteo Manassero (ITA) 62-73.
136 – Phil Mickelson (USA) 67-69, Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) 67-69, Dustin Johnson (USA) 65-71, Pablo Larrazabal (ESP) 68-68.
137 – Shiv Kapur (IND) 65-72, Joaquin Niemann (CHI) 65-72, Takumi Kanaya (JPN) 67-70.
138 – Jovan Rebula (RSA) 68-70, Abraham Ancer (MEX) 68-70, Paul Peterson (USA) 70-68, Sam Horsfield (ENG) 64-74, Kevin Na (USA) 70-68, Bio Kim (KOR) 66-72, Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 67-71, Joohyung Kim (KOR) 65-73, Shane Lowry (IRL) 68-70, Henrik Stenson (SWE) 66-72.
Asian Tour
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