Wellington golf professional Gareth Paddison has a three shot lead at the Carrus Tauranga Open after an impressive six-under par 64 in fine but cold conditions in round two at the Tauranga Golf Club today.
The experienced left hander, who has played on the European Tour and is currently 10th on the One Asia Order of Merit, got to a nine under par total to lead professionals Dominic Barson and Pieter Zwart and amateur Ryan Fox by three shots at the halfway stage.
Paddison, who last year won on his Charles Tour debut at the Wairakei Open, backed up his three under par 67 from the opening round to overtake his New Zealand World Cup team-mate Michael Hendry, who had a disappointing even par 70.
"I played really solid and in all honesty I am bit disappointed as I left a good three shots out there,'' the 31-year-old Paddison said.
"But I also played some extraordinary shots. I had two chip ins, so I guess I can't be too greedy, but I feel like it could have been a couple better. My game is looking really good, there are things to improve on but I am feeling confident going into tomorrow.''
Paddison got off to a flying start and was four under after four holes. He managed seven birdies in all with one dropped shot at the 14th.
Auckland professional Dominic Barson was the big mover of day two, also shooting a six under par 64 elevating him 22 places and getting him to within three shots of Paddison.
"You want to always give yourself a chance,'' Barson said. "I have been in this position before and played pretty poorly so it is important to not get too excited.''
New Zealand's leading amateur Fox, who finished third in the event last year, played alongside Paddison and delivered a four-under 66 to be in a share of second place.
"Both days I played one really good nine holes and one really average nine holes but I switched the nines around,'' the 24-year-old said.
"Today, I didn't really hole any putts or hit it close enough but I was happy with how I finished.''
Pre-tournament favourite Hendry, who opened with a five under par 65, never produced his best in round two. He worked on the range after his round and was bitterly disappointed with his effort.
The 2009 champion, who was runner up last year, has a good record at the Tauranga Golf Club and is looking to turn it around on day three.
Local favourite Jared Pender backed up his four-under par 66 start with a one-under 69 in the benign morning conditions.
New Zealand Amateur Champion Perry was also among the big movers on day two to get into contention.
The Waikato amateur was the only player from the NZ team to record four counting scores at the Nomura Cup in Fiji recently. He had an eventful three under par 67 (which included an eagle, five birdies and four bogeys) to get to five under for the tournament.
Meanwhile, in the women's field Emily Perry holds a three shot lead from New Zealand teammate Chantelle Cassidy after shooting a three under par 69 in round two.
Scores:
Men's Scores after round 2 - Friday, September 16
131 Gareth Paddison (P) 67 64
134 Dominic Barson (P) 70 64, Ryan Fox (Royal Auckland) 68 66, Pieter Zwart (P) 68 66
135 Blair Riordan (Takaka) 69 66, Mathew Perry (Hamilton) 68 67, Jared Pender (P) 66 69, Jim Cusdin (P) 65 70, Michael Hendry (P) 65 70
137 Peter Lee (Rotorua) 70 67
138 Troy Ropiha (P) 73 65, Tim Leonard (Timaru) 71 67, Scott Wightman (P) 70 68, James Hamilton (Tauranga) 69 69, Mahal Pearce (P) 69 69, David Klein (P) 66 72
139 Brenden Stuart (P) 71 68, Andrew Stewart (Omokoroa) 70 69, Leighton James (P) 69 70
140 Cody Harper (Invercargill) 73 67, Fraser Wilkin (Royal Auckland) 73 67, Mathew Holten (P) 72 68, Sam Davis (Tauranga) 71 69, Bradley Kendall (Mt Maunganui) 71 69, Sam An (Titirangi) 69 71, Mark Purser (P) 69 71, Landyn Edwards (Rotorua) 68 72
Women's Scores after round 2 - Friday September 16
141 Emily Perry (Lochiel) 72 69
144 Chantelle Cassidy (Tokoroa) 74 70
146 Jenna Hunter (P) 75 71
147 Charlotte Thomas (New Zealand) 74 73, Larissa Jane Eruera (Aviation) 74 73
149 Sarah Bradley (Cambridge) 78 71, Faye-Amy Nickson (Peninsula) 72 77, Lita Guo (North Shore) 72 77
152 Caroline Bon (P) 80 72, Grace Senior (Rotorua) 73 79
