Bloom and gloom: Justin Rose soars at Hong Kong Open as Dustin Johnson misses the cut
Englishman leads rest of the field by one stroke, while American star falls one short of weekend play at Fanling
The pair held pride of place in promotions heading into this year’s event and Rose, the English world number seven, has his nose out in front of the field after a second-round, four-under-par 66 left him at nine-under at the halfway mark, one-stroke clear of Dane Lucas Bjerregaard, who also signed for a 66.
“Obviously I’m in a wonderful position going into the weekend, and obviously this course gave me some trouble last time I played it, so it was nice to figure out more of a decent game plan, which paid off so far,” said Rose, who missed the cut at his last appearance at Fanling in 2011.
I’m in a wonderful position going into the weekend, and obviously this course gave me some trouble last time I played it, so it was nice to figure out more of a decent game plan
The same fate befell world number eight Johnson on Friday, his two-over 72 leaving him at one-over 141, with the cut set at even-par 140.
Joining Johnson out the door were defending champion Scott Hend, of Australia, and four-time Hong Kong champion Miguel Angel Jimenez, of Spain.
Both players were three-over after the second round.
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Long-hitting American Johnson never found his range and was left to rue missing opportunities off the tee, on the green … and all parts in between.
“I played terrible,” said the 31-year-old. “Didn't drive it very good. Didn't hit irons very good. Didn't do anything really that good.
“I'd like to come back for sure. Get a little bit of revenge, too. I felt like I should play very well here.”
The 35-year-old Rose has so far been handing out a lesson in course management to anyone watching at the Hong Kong Golf Club but collected his first bogey of the tournament on the par-four ninth hole. A birdie three on the 10th – his last for the day – had Rose looking forward to lunch in a somewhat philosophical mood.
“The way to win a golf tournament is to stay in the moment,” opined Rose.
“I can't really look more forward than the first hole tomorrow. I've been in this position many times and won tournaments and I've been in this position many times and not won tournaments.
READ MORE > Day 2 Recap
“You’ve got to just really focus on tomorrow and the first tee shot tomorrow. I feel good about my game and I feel like my chances are good, and if I say in my process, things should work out well, but you can't afford to get ahead.”
“I'm looking a little bit and seeing where I'm at and trying to keep up with the other guys, and hopefully I can keep on doing that this weekend,” he said.
“There’s some good names this week. It’s a great field and I know I've got to play my best this weekend if I want to keep up with those guys.”
There’s some good names this week. It’s a great field and I know I've got to play my best this weekend if I want to keep up with those guys
But the man Rose warned could be the one they all have to watch is 2010 winner Ian Poulter.
The Englishman sits two-strokes back from Rose at seven-under in a tie for third with first-round leader Lu Wei-chih of Taiwan as we head into the weekend.
“Poulter is a past champion is and he's on the leaderboard,” said Rose.
“He's always good when he's got something to prove, and he's probably a dangerous guy now that he's outside the top-50 in the world, and I know that he'll be desperate to get back in it.
“He always plays well when he has motivation, so he's obviously going to be tough to beat, too.”
