It’s just as well Peter Hedblom believes in fairy tales. The 43-year-old Swede arrived in Western Australia for the ISPS HANDA Perth International needing nothing less than a victory to secure his place on The European Tour, and after rounds of 68 and 69 at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, finds himself two shots clear and in with a chance to write the kind of story that JM Barrie’s Peter Pan would be proud of.
Hedblom is currently ranked 179th on The European Tour’s Race to Dubai, with only the top 110 players after this week guaranteeing a full-time spot on the tour next year.
Only a victory – and the two year exemption that comes with it – is good enough for Hedblom and he has put himself in a superb position to do just that, posting a seven under par halfway score to lead by two from Ryder Cup star Ross Fisher, with Søren Hansen, Clint Rice, Josh Younger, Jin Jeong and Dimitrios Papadatos a further shot back.
Seven time PGA Tour winner Dustin Johnson made a great start to his second round to move into a share of the lead, but a three over par back nine saw him card a two over 74 and fall back into the chasing pack on one under.
After a fine second round effort of five under 67, Englishman Fisher looks close to the ball-striking best that brought him four European Tour wins from 2007 to 2010 and culminated in his victorious Ryder Cup debut in 2010, while ISPS HANDA Perth International defending champion Bo Van Pelt moved ominously into contention on three under par after a 71.
Those two men will be looking to lead the charge against Hedblom, but the Swede is hoping to take inspiration from the fairy tale story that befell his best friend on the Tour, fellow Swede Michael Jonzon, back in 2009.
“I love fairy tales,” smiled Hedblom. “A similar thing actually happened to my best friend on the European Tour, Michael Jonzon, in 2009. He was like me, way back and needed a big finish in Castellón which was his last tournament and he won it – he beat Martin Kaymer. That was a fairy tale story.
“That was the same year as my last win, so it has been a little while for me but I know I have the game to do it. It's been two great days so far and it is great right now to be leading.
“We'll see – I think the closer I get to Sunday, the more difficult it will become but I don't really have anything to lose. If I want to play another year, full year on Tour, I need to win. So you just have to go for it and have fun.” Peter Pan couldn’t have said it better himself.
Ross Fisher, a tournament favourite heading into the ISPS HANDA Perth International, said he was feeling confident. “I've been playing nice golf, coming off the back of a good week last week in Portugal.”
“It's nice to be thought of in that way, being one of the favourites. Hopefully I can prove those guys right and have a good weekend.”
Playing in the third group of the morning, Fisher’s round was highlighted by a bunker shot for birdie on the par-3 8th at Lake Karrinyup Country Club.
“It was difficult to adjust how far the ball was flying this morning. But I managed to dial that in pretty quickly and made some early birdies on the back nine, my front nine.”
“To hole the bunker shot on the 8th was a bonus. It was one of those ones where as soon as I struck it, I knew it was pretty decent. I had a really good line on it, and it went in.”
After an even par round, Tasmanian Clint Rice relinquished his overnight lead but maintains his position of leading Australia with Victorian Josh Younger and New South Welshman Dimitrios Papadatos.
The Australians are tied third on the leaderboard with Dane Soren Hansen and South Korean Jin Jeong at 4-under the card.
“It was good to come out and play well after a solid round yesterday,” said Rice. “I made a couple of soft bogeys and I started to get a bit hard on myself. I had to stop and think, it's hard out here for everyone.”
The second round cut was made at 2-over the card with 69 Professionals making it through to the weekend rounds. The third round of the ISPS HANDA Perth International will tee off at 7.50am with the leaders out on course at 9.45am.
From tomorrow a Hole In One competition means players have two chances per day to win a brand new Volkswagen Golf 90TSI, 2013 World Car of the Year. If they come close on the 5th, they will have a second opportunity in each round on the 8th. There is a Volkswagen Golf displayed on both holes, including one over Lake Karrinyup.
The ISPS HANDA Perth International continues over the weekend at Lake Karrinyup Country Club, widely acknowledged as Western Australia’s premier golf club. It is the only Australian tournament to be co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the PGA Tour of Australasia.
With US$2 million in prizemoney, the tournament is Australia’s richest tour event and is proudly supported by the International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS), and the Western Australian Government, through Eventscorp.
The ISPS HANDA Perth International is also partnered with premium brands including Volkswagen, Crown Perth, The West Australian, the Seven Network and TAG Heuer.
Tickets start at $44. Children under 16 are free when accompanied by a paying adult and there are single day and weekend pass options available. Tickets are available on the gate on each day of the tournament.