Expand / Collapse search
Watch TV
Menu

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. ©2024 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. Quotes displayed in real-time or delayed by at least 15 minutes. Market data provided by Factset. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. Legal Statement. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper.

Sports

Donaldson moves ahead by 3 at Nedbank Challenge

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Sun City, South Africa (SportsNetwork.com) - Jamie Donaldson fired a 6-under- par 66 on Friday to grab a 3-stroke lead at the halfway point of the Nedbank Golf Challenge.

Donaldson was one shot behind leader Sergio Garcia when the first round concluded Friday morning, as the tournament got back on track following a pair of Thursday weather delays. The 38-year-old Welshman then mixed seven birdies with a lone bogey during his second round to move in front at 11-under-par 133 through 36 holes.

"I've played very nicely for the first two rounds and hit a lot of good shots so I am happy with the way I am playing," Donaldson said. "We had to play six holes of the first round and then back out after a 45-minute break for the second, so it's been a long day."

Reigning FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai champion Henrik Stenson shot 67 to grab a share of second place at 8-under. He stands alongside American Ryan Moore, whose 65 at Gary Player Country Club marked the low score of the second round.

Defending champion Martin Kaymer fired a 66 to snare a share of fourth place with Thomas Bjorn (70) at 7-under, one shot ahead of Charl Schwartzel (70), D.A. Points (67) and Brendon de Jonge (68).

Garcia, a two-time winner of this event, stumbled to a 73 and fell into a tie for ninth with five others at minus-5.

Donaldson, who won in Abu Dhabi in January 2013, wasted little time jumping ahead when the second round commenced, as he opened with back-to-back birdies from the first and added gains at Nos. 4, 8 and 9 to turn in 31.

At the 10th, Donaldson needed two shots to escape a bunker, which resulted in a bogey-6, but the Welshman was flawless the rest of the way, tacking on birdies at the 13th and 14th to reach 11-under and parring out from there to secure the halfway lead.

"These bizarre things happen and you just have to get on with it," said Donaldson, of his trouble at the 10th. "In the end it was a good six!"

NOTES: Donaldson is a two-time European Tour winner, with his titles coming at the 2013 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship and the 2012 Irish Open. He is a three-time winner on the Challenge Tour ... Stenson, Garcia and Ernie Els join Kaymer as the four former champions in the field. Els is tied for 20th place at 2-over-par 146.