Error costs Cabrera-Bello sole lead

bruced
June 27, 2014

A moment of misfortune cost Rafa Cabrera-Bello the outright lead at the halfway mark of the BMW International Open in Germany.

The Spaniard inadvertently made a second connection with the ball in his follow through as he attempted to chip out of the rough in front of the par-five seventh green.

That cost him a shot and he had to settle for a four-under-par 68, which left him on 12 under par and tied at the top with three others – his co-overnight leader Danny Willett (68), Emiliano Grillo and Pablo Larrazabal, whose superb 63 was the low round of the day.

Willett narrowly escaped disaster himself on the ninth, his final hole of the day, when he horribly shanked his approach.

The Englishman only just cleared the water and then pitched back over the lake to scramble par.

“Twelve under was great score for two days and the shoulder was good early on,” Willett, who missed Wednesday’s pro-am because of his neck problem, told European Tour Radio.

“I completely forgot to take any pills after nine holes and I could feel it in the last few holes.

“The only thing you can do is laugh as it (the shank) is not something that happens very often.”

As many as six players follow on 10 under, two shots off the lead, including the evergreen Miguel Angel Jimenez, who carded a second successive 67.

Others to reach 10 under after two rounds included South African Branden Grace, Swede Robert Karlsson and Germany’s Alex Cejka.

The biggest news of the day concerned the fortunes of recently crowned US Open champion Martin Kaymer, who missed the cut after being forced to settle for a 74.