Andy DevaneyMikael Lundberg emerged as the Senior Tour Chart Hills round two leader with the sort of score that makes everybody else check they have been playing the same golf course.
The Swede shot a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 in gusting wind and heavy Kent rain, reaching 12-under and opening a three-shot advantage over Stephen Gallacher at the Staysure English Legends.
Only nine players finished the second round under par for the championship. Lundberg, apparently unimpressed by the collective struggle, spent his morning making birdies.
Five Birdies in Six Holes Change the Tournament
Lundberg began two shots behind Gallacher and removed that deficit with considerable haste.
Five birdies arrived in his opening six holes, powered by a putter that was behaving less like a golf club and more like an accomplice.
He reached the turn in five-under 31, transforming a chasing position into control of the tournament before much of the field had settled into the miserable business of waterproofs and damage limitation.
The weather made the round all the more striking. Gusty winds and periods of heavy rain steadily increased the difficulty around Chart Hills, yet Lundberg added successive birdies at the 13th and 14th and did not record a bogey.
His final contribution was hardly spectacular by comparison, but rather important: a five-foot par putt at the 18th for 65.
“Extremely pleased. What can you say? I started off making a lot of nice putts, which makes the game so much easier,” said Lundberg. “After that, it was just trying not to make any mistakes. Today it just felt like it was on, so I tried to stay out of the way.”
There are worse strategies in golf than recognising when your game is behaving itself and avoiding unnecessary interference.
Gallacher Hangs On as Conditions Bite
Gallacher’s 70 was four shots worse than Lundberg’s, but it kept him very much involved.
The Scot had opened the championship with a 65 and started round two holding a two-shot advantage. His second day was rather less obedient.
Three front-nine birdies were interrupted by bogeys at the second and eighth, with another shot disappearing at the 11th. Yet Gallacher did not allow the round to escape. Birdies at 15 and 16 repaired some of the damage, while an excellent chip to a foot at the last secured par.
At nine-under, the four-time DP World Tour winner sits alone in second and still has an obvious route into Sunday’s final round: make Lundberg earn it.
Both men are chasing a first Staysure Legends Tour title.
Westwood Pays Dearly for Three Bad Holes
For Lee Westwood, the leaderboard looked considerably healthier before the 16th tee.
Starting at five-under and only two shots from the overnight lead, the former World Number One remained within range through much of the afternoon despite the worsening conditions.
Then Chart Hills presented the bill.
A bogey at the 16th was followed by trouble at the par-three 17th, where Westwood found the water and made double bogey. Another dropped shot at the 18th completed a four-over closing sequence across three holes.
His three-over 75 left him at two-under and sharing sixth.
“I didn’t play very well. I got off to a decent start. The conditions were tough, so you had to be playing well. I didn’t do too badly, but then I just had a terrible finish. Four-over for the last three holes, so that was disappointing,” said Westwood.
The scorecard hardly needed an interpreter.
Griffiths Makes His Own Charge
Lundberg was not the only player to produce something exceptional.
Simon Griffiths began the day at two-over and then matched Lundberg’s early burst with five birdies in his opening six holes. His six-under 66 eventually lifted him to four-under for the championship.
Further birdies at the 13th and 16th helped Griffiths into a share of third with Maarten Lafeber, whose progress has been rather less dramatic but impressively tidy: consecutive rounds of 70.
Andrew Marshall stands alone in fifth at three-under.
Those numbers underline the separation Lundberg has created. He is eight shots clear of the players sharing third place. After two rounds, this has become less a crowded leaderboard than a duel with interested witnesses.
Lundberg Has the Lead — Now Comes the Different Test
Lundberg’s recent form suggests his presence at the top is hardly accidental. The three-time DP World Tour winner has already finished runner-up at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship and fifth at the Portugal Invitational this season.
Sunday presents something different: a three-shot lead and the possibility of converting good form into a first Staysure Legends Tour victory.
“It’s always fantastic once you’re up there. That’s what we play for. No matter what happens tomorrow, I’ll try to shoot as low as I can, try not to make mistakes and then we’ll see where it takes us.
“It’s another day at work. You try to stick to the things that you do and keep it as simple as possible.”
Simple is an admirable ambition. Golf has spent several centuries making other arrangements.
Lundberg will begin the final round three ahead of Gallacher, having produced the outstanding score on the day the weather turned unpleasant. Another 65 is unnecessary. Another afternoon of staying out of his own way may be quite enough.
