US and LIV Golf star Bubba Watson on his way into a share of the second day’s lead at the International Series Morocco in Dar Es Salam on Friday. Image courtesy Asian Tour.
By Rahul Banerji
Two-time Masters champion Bubba Watson and Thailand’s Pavit Tangkamolprasert shared the halfway lead at the $2 million International Series Morocco presented by Visit Morocco on Friday.
The 47-year-old American put up a masterclass of shot-shaping and putting to overcome the challenges of the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam’s Red Course, the Asian Tour said.
A 7 under par 66 – the low round of the day – helped Watson catch overnight leader Pavit, who closed with a 3 under 70 to tie the lead at 11-under 135 total.
Three Indians were among the top 75 making the 36-hole cut — Ajeetesh Sandhu (72-70, -4, T25) multiple Asian Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar (70-74, -2, T47), and in-form IGPL star Karandeep Kochhar (72-72, -2, T47).
Some big names particularly from the LIV Golf stable, however, failed to make the cut line at 1 under 145.
They included Indian stalwart Anirban Lahiri of Crushers GC and Fireballs captain, Sergio Garcia of Spain, both on level par 146.
Also missing out were two-time Indian Open champion S.S.P. Chawrasia, DP World PGTI members Shaurya Bhattacharya, Rashid Khan and Shubham Jaglan, who retired after the first round.
Captain of LIV Golf’s RangeGoats GC, Watson hit 15 of the 18 fairways and made eight birdies against a solitary bogey. They were one ahead of Korea’s Younghan Song (67-69, -10).
Well placed
Australia’s Travis Smyth (67-70), the International Series Japan champion and the current Asian Tour Order of Merit leader, moved to a tie for fourth place in the clubhouse at 9 under 135.
He was alongside defending champion Scott Vincent of Zimbabwe (70-67) and the in-form Taichi Kho of Hong Kong (68-69).
Thailand’s Jazz Janewattananond (71-67), winner of the inaugural International Series Morocco, and Suteepat Prateeptienchai (69-69) were tied for seventh at 8 under 138.
Watson, who last won on the PGA Tour at the Travellers Championship in June 2018, has shown glimpses of his old form lately, and Friday was vintage Bubba. His ball-striking was good, but his putting was even more solid as he NEEDED just 26 putts on the day.
“Today was good. I made a few putts and just kept the round going. Waking up that early, you never really know how your body is going to feel, but I got into the right positions physically and gave myself chances,” said Watson.
“From there, it was just about making putts. My caddie read a lot of lines really well, and luckily, I trusted him and hit the ones he was seeing, so a few of them dropped.
“You have to be a strong ball striker. You can’t fake it around here. But on this golf course, the greens and the green complexes are the biggest challenge.
“They’re really good, but they’re also very difficult. Around here, the putter is key.”
Early jitters
Pavit did not have the best start as two bogeys in the first eight holes left him one-over par.
Just like the opening round, however, when he made four birdies in his last four holes, the Thai sytar managed to pick up strokes on the 17th and 18th holes for his 3 underr 70.
“It was a good comeback today. Didn’t start my round well, made some mistakes, but I still tried to keep it in the fairway and hit it in the right positions. I know that if I played to the same standard, I can make a comeback,” said the 37-year-old, a two-time champion on the Asian Tour.
“The turning point was the birdie on the ninth hole, which is a tough par three. I bogeyed on the easy par-five eighth, so the birdie on ninth was very important to gain some momentum.”
While Pavit was excited about his own chances, he was also thrilled that he would be paired with Watson.
The Thai star recalled how he watched the American playing the 2012 Thai Golf Championship at Amata Springs after missing the cut himself.
“I am excited about the weekend. It’s The International Series with top-quality players. Everyone has a chance to win, so I’m looking forward to play on the weekend,” said Pavit.
“I have some pictures of Bubba from back then when I saw him playing at Amata Spring when I was young. I like Bubba, I like how he drives the ball. He could really curve the ball.”
Mehdi El Fakori was the only Moroccan player to make the cut with rounds of 74 and 70.
Also read: Lahiri heads solid Indian presence at International Series Morocco
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