July 6 (Reuters) – World number three Lee Westwood refused
to rule himself out of title contention despite taking three
penalty drops on his back nine in the second round of the French
Open on Friday.
The Briton struggled to a two-over 73 for a one-over tally
of 143, seven behind Marcel Siem of Germany who shot a second
successive 68 to lead by one from Swede Alexander Noren (67).
Denmark’s Anders Hansen (68) and South African George
Coetzee (68) shared third place on 138.
Westwood was in positive mood despite a horror spell midway
through the inward half which caused him to drop five strokes in
four holes from the 12th.
“It’s that kind of golf course,” he told reporters at Le
Golf National. “You don’t have to be far off.
“I would have liked to have played a bit better coming in
but I’m not out of it.”
Siem completed his round following a mid-afternoon storm
that prompted the suspension of play for more than an hour.
“If you shoot a few under par on this course, it doesn’t
matter about the conditions because it’s a good score,” the
German said.
European Ryder Cup trio Francesco Molinari (139), Graeme
McDowell and Ian Poulter (both 141) were well placed midway
through the tournament while captain Jose Maria Olazabal safely
made the cut with a two-round score of 143.
Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Paul Casey and Colin
Montgomerie missed out.
(Writing by Tony Jimenez; editing by Ken Ferris)
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