Should Lee Westwood’s bid to claim the DP World Tour Championship fall short by a stroke, there is no doubt about where the Englishman’s analysis will focus.
When playing a relatively simple shot from the fairway of the 18th hole during round two, Westwood was tied for the lead. Cue the interventions of an errant camera shutter, which proved sufficient to distract the 43-year-old during his backswing. Westwood duly found a water hazard, made a bogey six and trails the halfway leaders by one.
“Somebody clicked a camera on the right-hand side and that put me off,” Westwood said after signing for his 70 and aggregate of nine under. “It happens. You just have to regroup. What else are you going to do?” The answer, of course, would be to rant and rave, which is not Westwood’s style.
Francesco Molinari and Sergio García are the men at the head of proceedings. Both made second rounds of 67, including identical nines of 33 and 34.
“I guess I’m a little bit fresher than the guys that have been playing the last three or four weeks,” García said on his return from a competitive break.
“I’m excited about the weekend. It’s good to be out there with a chance in the last tournament of the year. I just want to make sure that I keep playing the same way I’ve played these first two days and see where that takes us.”
Molinari is seeking a double celebration after his brother, Edoardo, earned a full‑time place back on the European Tour via qualifying school on Thursday.
Given course specialism, it would be unwise to discount Rory McIlroy despite a position of eight shots from the lead. The Northern Irishman bounced back from a round of 75 on Thursday with a 68. “I just mentally was very flat during that first round,” McIlroy said.
“I’d say I was in holiday mode. I hadn’t quite switched on to what I needed to do. It was just a bad day. I sort of turned it around today and hopefully I can improve again over the weekend.
“I’ve shot some really good scores here in the past. If I can emulate that and shoot a couple of really good ones over the weekend, I’d be happy enough going into the break.”
The wider battle, for the European Tour’s order-of-merit crown, remains closely fought. Henrik Stenson, the leader, is tied with second-placed Danny Willett at three under par with 36 holes to play.
Stenson had an interesting Friday, hitting a spectator with an errant iron shot having earlier watched a marshal pick up his ball when it was clearly still in play. “I don’t know why anyone that enters a golf tournament is picking up a golf ball inside the ropes,” Stenson said.
“That seems a bit weird to me. But it happens, unfortunately. I had to call for a ruling, then we estimated where it was supposed to be and dropped it there and on we go.
“Unfortunately I hit a lady and she went down. But I had some reports later in the round that she was doing OK. Of course, you get shocked when you get hit like that and it’s painful. I’m just making sure that we’re going to get her details so I can send her something nice.”
