Robert Garrigus of USA watches his tee shot on the 2nd hole during the Pro-Am ahead of the CIMB Classic at The MINES Resort & Golf Club on October 24, 2012 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Pix: Stanley Chou/Getty Images AsiaPacKUALA LUMPUR: American PGA's Robert Garrigus took a two shot lead after the second round of the 2012 CIMB Classic at Mines Resort and Golf Club in Seri Kembangan, today.
Garrigus, who had three second-place finishes on the Tour this year, scored his second consecutive 64 here for a two-day total of 14-under 128 and take command of the US$6.1 million (RM19 million) PGA Tour and Asian Tour co-sanctioned event.
In today's second round, Garrigus shot three consecutive birdies in his first-nine (seventh, eighth and ninth) and added another five birdies on the back nine before dropping a shot on the final hole with a bogey to end the day with a 64.
Following two strokes adrift was South African Jbe' Kruger who also scored a seven-under 64 today but enjoyed the thrill of a lifetime by outscoring playing partner Tiger Woods.
The third ranked player in the Asian Tour's Order of Merit, produced eight birdies against a lone bogey, while Woods settled for a 67 which left him five shots off the pace in tied fifth position.
“I feel like I can beat anybody in the world. I've played with Tiger. I've played with Rory (McIlroy) in the Tour Championship. I hit it just as good as those guys. It's just the short game. If I'm putting well and if I keep putting like this on the weekend, it's going to be hard to catch me,” said the 34-year-old Garrigus.
“I do have a very high confidence level right now. I am having one of the best years of my career. I'm having fun, having a good time with it. A lot of my hard work has paid off and that's nice to see.”
Kruger, grinning from ear to ear said: "It's fun to play with him (Woods). I enjoyed every moment, every second. I was nervous at the start and I was still nervous on 18," said Kruger, who claimed a maiden Asian Tour victory at the Avantha Masters in India earlier this season.
"I think playing with him (Tiger Woods) definitely made me concentrate a bit harder. That is one thing I've been lacking in the last couple of months. So I think I want to play with him every day. Just to shoot anything, level par, anything was a dream. It was pretty cool," he said.
Woods, chasing a fourth victory of the year, again endured a frustrating day on the tricky greens at the Mines Resort and Golf Club but he was impressed with what he saw from Kruger.
"I knew a little bit about him, but I hadn't seen him play. Today was the first time I've seen him. He was playing right in front of us yesterday, and he had a seven under with one to go and made a big mistake at 18. But he's playing well. What is he? 12-under-par with a double. So he's playing really, really well," said Woods.
The American superstar, making a return to Malaysia after winning the 1999 World Cup of Golf, battled hard in the heat and humidity to keep alive his hopes of winning in his CIMB Classic debut.
"That's one of the hard things. You have to make birdies out there. You can't just be passive and play to the centre of the greens and stuff. You have to be aggressive.
"It was just one of those days that I didn't make enough birdies. I didn't really have a lot of looks, and then the looks I did have were downhill, cross grain putts and putts that I just couldn't be aggressive with," said Woods.
Overnight leader Troy Matteson from the United States shared third position with Australia's Greg Chalmers with a two-day total of 10-under-par 132.
Meanwhile, local pro Danny Chia who shot a 66 yesterday to give Malaysians some hope, blew his chances today with a 75, and stayed 13 strokes off the leader in 41st spot while another Malaysian, Shaaban Hussain who carded a 74 yesterday, finished with a 73 today.
"I probably don't have a chance to win but if I can get into the same position which I did last year, I will be happy," said Chia, who finished tied 13th in last year's edition.
- Bernama
