Oct 28, 2016: Defending champion Russell Knox is three shots behind leader Hideki Matsuyama at the halfway mark of the WGC-HSBC Champions, with Rory McIlroy also into contention among a strong European Tour presence on the leaderboard in Shanghai.
Japan’s Matsuyama fired a superb seven under par second round of 65 in windy conditions at Sheshan International Golf Club to set the pace on 13 under par in the season’s final World Golf Championship event.
Scotland’s Knox, who won the title in his first attempt 12 months ago, remains well-placed to become only the second player following Tiger Woods to defend a WGC title after he posted a 68 to share second place with American Bill Haas, who signed for his second consecutive round of 67 to move to ten under par.
“I had a couple of chances there at the end, which I would have loved to have made. Every shot was very difficult towards the end when it started raining, so I’m thrilled with four under.
“It was a little cold, but I’m built for this. As much as I would say I don’t enjoy playing in this weather, I’m good at it. I hope it’s like this at the weekend.
“You have to try and find your edge when it’s like that. If you have a good attitude when the weather gets bad, you can maybe pick up half a shot mentally.”, said Knox.
Italian Francesco Molinari, a winner of the tournament in 2010, is a further two shots back on eight under par in a share of fourth place with WGC debutant Richard Bland, of England, who carded a round of 68, and American Daniel Berger, who posted a two under par 70.
Meanwhile, four-time Major Champion McIlroy made significant strides up the leaderboard after firing seven birdies and one bogey in his six under par round of 66. The Northern Irishman, who has four top ten finishes in five appearances in the event, heads into the weekend six shots behind Matsuyama on seven under par in a share of seventh position with English duo Ross Fisher (68) and Paul Casey (70), and China’s Xinjun Zhang.
“I feel like I actually hit the ball pretty similarly the first two days, but I just holed a few more putts today and was able to take advantage of some of the good drives that I was hitting. A 66 in these conditions is pretty good out there, and it looks like from the way the leaderboard is, I’m going to need a couple more scores like that to have any chance.
“My game feels really good, it really does. Hopefully I can have a good weekend here. There’s still a lot to play for this year and I will try to really give myself a chance to win another Race to Dubai.”, said McIlroy.
European Tour Release
