EUROPEAN TOUR NEWS:DARREN CLARKE believes he is starting to the see the benefit of improvements he has made to his putting technique as the Northern Irishman sits one stroke off the top of the leaderboard going into the final two rounds of the BMW Asian Open.
The 2006 Ryder Cup star carded a three-under-par 69 at a windy Shanghai Pudong Golf Club and is four under overall, one shot behind leaders Robert-Jan Derksen and Zhang Lian-wei.
Starting on the back nine, Clarke birdied the par-four 11th and then made par on the rest to reach the turn at one under par.
He bogeyed the par-five sixth but then finished strongly with three birdies to ensure he is in contention for the weekend.
In a bid to improve his putting, Clarke has been working with an alignment specialist in recent weeks and early signs in his two rounds in Shanghai indicate he is seeing an improvement.
"I haven't holed all that well before but 29 putts yesterday and 29 today is a lot better than the 32 or 33 I have been averaging this year," said Clarke.
"I worked with a guy last week on my alignment and it feels a lot better so hopefully I can keep doing it and holing a lot more."
Clarke has endured mixed results on the European Tour circuit this season, finishing as high as third at the South African Airways Open but also as low as 112th at the Open de Andalucia.
But the 39-year-old is encouraged by the way things in his game have improved and hopes he can hit form this weekend.
"It has been a difficult time as I have not been playing as well as I would have liked," added Clarke.
"But I'm very pleased with the things I am working on. I have been working on my posture in the gym and things feel they are starting to click together. They have been close for some time but not quite doing it so hopefully I can go out at the weekend and keep playing the way I know I can play."
Joint leader Derksen was solid in blustery conditions, making five birdies for a 69 and a five-under total of 139. He is also hopeful he can continue his impressive putting into the weekend as he looks to capture only his third victory on the circuit. "I was close to winning twice last year and was a bit unlucky," he said. "My putting has been good this week and that is key and if I can continue then I should have a chance on Sunday."
Henrik Stenson, the highest-ranked player at the tournament, had started the day just one stroke off the top at four under par but struggled in the windy conditions to drop to level par overall, five shots off the pace.
Miles Tunnicliff is joint third alongside first-round leader Peter O'Malley of Australia after the Englishman carded three birdies and one bogey for a two-under-par 70 and three under overall.
Defending champion Raphael Jacquelin struggled once again to all but end his chances of retaining his title after carding a two-over 74 and is three over par overall.
Overnight leader O'Malley was unable to repeat his sparkling first round in Shanghai, slipping to a 74 to reach the clubhouse two strokes behind the leader.
Twice US Open champion Retief Goosen is one shot further adrift, along with Asian tour of merit leader Mark Brown of New Zealand. Goosen overcame another slow start and is well-placed to make a charge at the weekend after three birdies in four holes late in his two-under round of 70. Chinese pair Liang Wenchong and Hu Mu and Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang are also at two under in the $2.3 million tournament which is co-sanctioned by the European Tour.
