HONG KONG – Justin Rose shot a 4-under 66 to grab a one-shot lead after the second round of the Hong Kong Open on Friday despite making his first bogey of the tournament on the penultimate hole.
Rose was on his way to a second straight error-free performance at the Fanling Course but bounced back from his late bogey with a birdie at the last hole to move to 9-under 131.
“I’m in a wonderful position going into the weekend,” Rose said. “I played a clean round yesterday but today it was a bit more of a struggle and I made a few mistakes and was happy to salvage par quite a few times.”
Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark shot a second consecutive 66 to sit in second place, with Ian Poulter and Lu Wei-chih another shot behind at the jointly-sanctioned European Tour and the Asian Tour event.
Poulter also shot a 66 while Lu, who held a share of the overnight lead, carded a 69 after a double bogey on the par-5 third hole.
Poulter flew in late to Hong Kong after accepting a last-minute berth vacated by American Richard Beem so that he could fulfill his obligatory 13 tournaments this season to keep his European Tour membership. So far, he’s not showing any sign of jet lag.
“I played nicely again today and had a decent second day,” Poulter said. “I’m feeling a bit tired but playing good and I’m right there in the mix. It’s nice to be in this position.”
Dustin Johnson was the biggest name to miss the cut after a 72, which put him one stroke above cut level of even par.
“I played terribly. I didn’t drive it good and didn’t hit my irons good. I didn’t do anything good really,” Johnson said.
Also missing the cut was former major winner Padraig Harrington of Ireland (72), defending champion Scott Hend of Australia (74) and Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez (73). Jimenez was chasing a fifth Hong Kong title.