Westwood lags leader Rumford by 2 as early starters dominate in Qatar

DOHA, Qatar — European No. 1 Lee Westwood and former caddie Oliver Wilson are ideally placed heading into the weekend at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters with just a two-shot deficit to second-round leader Brett Rumford. Joint overnight leader Wilson, who caddied for then-county champion Westwood some 20 years ago, picked up two late birdies in a bogey-free 70 at the Doha Golf Club to join the world No. 4 at 7 under par. Robert Karlsson made the best move of the afternoon starters, carding a 2-under 70 to progress to 6 under par alongside Niclas Fasth (68) with Peter Hanson (69) and Africa Open and Joburg Open winner Charl Schwartzel (69) a further shot off the pace. Sergio Garcia and Paul Casey sit well placed at 4 under par, although new world No. 10 Ian Poulter will not be around for the weekend after missing the cut by a single stroke after only managing a level-par second round. Kenny Perry, the 13th-ranked American playing his first European Tour event, just made the cut at 2 over par, but he needed an eagle at the 10th to keep his score at a level 72. Fellow American Todd Hamilton, the 2004 British Open Champion who is attempting to resuscitate his career after losing his PGA Tour playing rights, missed the cut after following his opening 78 with a 75. Westwood, 36, struggled at times to maintain control of his swing, but continued to reap the benefits of a new set of irons to card a satisfying 3-under 69. “I haven’t holed anything, but I’m still feeling solid over holing out so I’m definitely getting better and maybe something will click,” said 29-year-old Wilson. “It was getting frustrating, but it was nice to get something out of the round at the end.” Westwood recalled a moment during his meeting with a young Wilson when he was handed a driver for a reachable 280-yard par 4 only to fly the green by 30 yards after initially opting for a 3-wood. “That ended his caddying days,” said Westwood. “But he’s turned out to be a better player than a caddie.” Out in front, Australian Rumford set the midway mark at 9 under par after dropping just one shot in carding the best round of a windswept week as a 6-under-par 66 helped the Perth native open up a one-shot lead over Bradley Dredge. And world No. 360 Rumford hopes that will be the shape of things to come after returning to Europe last season following a disappointing season on the PGA Tour after winning the 2007 European Masters. “My goal is the world ranking points at the moment to get my ranking up higher,” he said. “Looking back on it, I should have gone back to the qualifying school in 2009 and given it another crack. “The first year over in the States after never playing there was a pretty tough goal to try and maintain a tour card,” he explained. “I thought I would excel — a few players have done that, but it’s very difficult.” Joint overnight leader Dredge was also left disappointed with a 3-under 69 after failing to take full advantage of calm conditions following Thursday’s high winds as the Welshman only made his move up the leaderboard with two birdies over his final three holes. Dredge, though, is hoping to use the experience of claiming second at the halfway stage of last year’s European Masters before being forced to settle for a runner-up finish in his best return of 2009 to good effect this weekend in Doha. “Inconsistency has been an issue,” said Dredge. “I’m working my best but it was nice to churn out a score. Obviously over the weekend some consistent ball striking would be nice to keep myself in it.”