Rose’s medal hopes boosted by steady round

Rose’s medal hopes remain after a 69; Seamus powers up for Ireland

Olympics Golf Day Two
Seamus Powers hits his tee shot on the 16th hole where he went on to make an eagle in a fantastic 67 (-4).
(Image credit: Scott Halleran)

Rose’s medal hopes remain after a 69 keeps him in contention is 4th place; Seamus Powers moves up the leaderboard for Ireland

Who is leading after round two? Round one leader Marcus Fraser remains top of the leaderboard after his 69. But his lead is cut to one shot.

Shot of the day: Henrik Stenson made birdie on the first then over-hit his second shot on the par-4 2nd at the Olympic Course. But he drained a 60ft putt from off the green for birdie and he was up and running and halfway through the tournament he is now in the bronze medal spot. Thomas Pieters (Belgium) is in the silver position after his second-round 66.

Round of the day: 65 by Australian Danny Lea who birdied the final four holes to take him into tied 6th spot.

British medal chances: Justin Rose’s medal hopes remain after a steady round. He made 14 pars, one bogey and three birdies and lies in a two-way tie for 4th.  But will it be a medal for Danny? Unlikely - Willett is in T22 spot.

Are Irish eyes smiling? Seamus Power ahem powered up the leaderboard courtesy of four birdies and then an eagle on the driveable par-4 16th hole. He dropped shots on 15 and 17, but carded a 67 and lies tied in 10th. With a single birdie and bogey, Padraig Harrington did the front nine in level par, but came adrift on the inward half before birdies at 17 and 18 took him to level par for the round. He is tied 19th after two days.

Keeping it in the family? Byeong Hun An’s parents were Olympic medallists in table tennis at the 1988 Seoul Games. His father won bronze in the men's doubles and his mother won silver and a bronze in the women’s singles and doubles respectively. But their son slipped back with a 72 after his opening 68.

USA! USA! USA! USA! No other nation has more than two golfers competing, but the US has four. If this makes them statistical favourites for a medal it isn’t working out that way. On day only Matt Kuchar (69) broke par. Today Bubba Watson made an early charge including eagling the par-4 2nd hole at the Olympic course when his wedge from 92 yards spun back into the hole. But his charge fell away when he made bogey on 12, 13 and 15. Kuchar remains the highest-placed American golfer. He is tied in 14th.

The rank outsiders: Rodolfo Cazaubon shot 66, one stroke off the best round of the day, after he made six birdies in the final eight holes. He and SSP Chawrasia are among those tied in 30th.

Roderick Easdale

Contributing Writer Golf courses and travel are Roderick’s particular interests and he was contributing editor for the first few years of the Golf Monthly Travel Supplement. He writes travel articles and general features for the magazine, travel supplement and website. He also compiles the magazine's crossword. He is a member of Trevose Golf & Country Club and has played golf in around two dozen countries. Cricket is his other main sporting love. He is the author of five books, four of which are still in print: The Novel Life of PG Wodehouse; The Don: Beyond Boundaries; Wally Hammond: Gentleman & Player and England’s Greatest Post-War All Rounder.