All three South
African women participating in the Dubai Ladies Masters at the Emirates Golf
Club made the cut after the first round, but it was Stacy Lee Bregman who shone
the brightest, posting an emphatic come-back two-under par 70 after her
first-round 78 to record the day’s third-best score, and to remain in the count
for the season-ending tournament.
Starting at the
first hole tee, Bregman finished the day without a single blemish, against birdies
on the third and 13th holes to finish a sterling round which a mere six of the
remaining golfers managed to better on the day, and she looks in a mood to
finish the year on a high note.
Bregman remains
third on the list of South Africans playing, but her tournament score 149 now
compares favourably with Laurette Maritz’s 148, whose first-round 73 was added
to the day two 75 she finished on, including two double-bogies and bogies
against three birdies for a real rollercoaster day in the Gulf heat.
To Maritz’
credit, the mistakes all came off her first nine (played on holes 9-18), and her
faultless way home, scoring her closing two birdies at the fifth and closing
flags, only demonstrate her experience in coming back under trying conditions.
Ashleigh Simon
displayed class again to remain in touch with the leaders, also courtesy of
more restrained cards posted by all front-runners when she put down three
bogies to match her birdies- two on the front nine and one on the return- to
finish the second day 141 with Swedish Lotta Wahlin five shots off the leader
England’s
Lisa Hall took the halfway lead at the Dubai Ladies Masters with a one shot
lead over compatriot Laura Davies, after she added a
three-under-par 69 to her first round of 67 over the Emirate’s Majlis Course
for an eight-under-par total, carding six birdies and three bogeys in hot
conditions.
"The best part was that I hit a lot of
shots close," said Hall, who finished by sinking a two-foot birdie putt at the
ninth hole. "It has been a great year for me. Just to be playing and competing:
I’ve won twice and I’ve played a lot of good golf. Right now I’m enjoying
playing, I’m enjoying competing and it’s nice to have had a couple of good
rounds behind me."
On her current form, she said: "It’s down
to a lot of things; too many to list. A good caddy, good fortune, good work, a
lot of effort, perseverance, enjoyment, perspective; a lot of things go into
playing good golf and I’m glad that I’ve learnt that; to be able to play the
golf I’m playing now. It’s been a long journey."
Davies, who claimed her 68th title in Austria in
September, finished with three birdies in a row for a 70 to sit one shot behind
Hall on seven-under-par.
The seven-time European number one carded
five birdies and three bogeys and said: "It was a shaky old start but nice to
finish with three birdies. We had a good fun day. Trish (Johnson) had a
hole-in-one which was nice so she is going to buy the drinks now."
Overnight leader Stahle, who carved a
course record 64, eight-under-par in the first round, followed up with a 74 to
finish on six-under-par. She shared third with Italy’s Veronica Zorzi, who had a
68.
Stahle remained in contention for her first
title at the halfway stage of the tournament despite a double bogey at the
par-five 10th hole, which she played as her first.
"It was kind of a rough start. I got it
back on 11 and 12 though," said the 22-year-old from Lund, who is well placed to scoop the LET’s
rookie honours on Sunday.
"I am just going to try and be a little bit
more aggressive with the putts over the next two days. That’s what I did the
first day. There is a lot more golf to be played. I am definitely going for
it."
Glamour girl Natalie Gulbis from the United States shot rounds of 77 and 75 for a
36-hole total of eight-over-par and missed the halfway cut by a stroke, as it
fell to 69 players on seven-over-par. England’s Kiran Matharu also missed
the cut after rounds of 78 and 74.
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