Golf

Hoey fires a 67 to move into joint-second place in Moscow

Northern Irish golfer two shots behind Rikard Karlberg in Russia

Michael Hoey in action during the second round of the M2M Russian Open at Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club in Moscow. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images
Michael Hoey in action during the second round of the M2M Russian Open at Tseleevo Golf & Polo Club in Moscow. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images
Fri Jul 26 2013 - 22:15

Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey shot a 67 to move into joint second place just two shots behind the leader, Sweden’s Rikard Karlberg, after the second round of the Russian Open in Moscow yesterday.

Karlberg who shot a 68 yesterday for a nine-under total heads a chasing group of four, including Hoey, on seven under par. England’s Matthew Baldwin shot a 69 to be three under on the day, with China’s Liang Wen-chong carded a round of 70. Hoey and Frenchman Alexandre Kaleka were the day’s big movers as rounds of 67 moved them into contention. David Higgins is two under following a second 71 and while Gareth Shaw (77) just made the cut, Damien McGrane (72) and Alan Dunbar (79) missed out.

“It’s been a bit up and down to be honest. The good stuff is really good but then I am making quite a lot of silly mistakes which is costing me a lot of shots,” Hoey said afterwards

“ You just need to look at the scores: I have made 15 birdies in the first two rounds here and I am only seven under. So I really need to stop making silly errors because you can’t do that for four days at this level and expect to win a golf tournament. It’s not possible.

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“They are just silly errors that creep in now and then. You just shouldn’t be flying the ball over greens with a wedge in your hand for example, that was probably the most frustrating one today. It’s not the putting. In fact, the outing has improved since I put a new putter in the bag last week. I am putting quite well with it compared to how I was a few weeks ago.

“But I need to look at the positives - I am on that leaderboard and in a good position for the weekend. If I can get rid of those silly mistakes then I still have a great chance to win,” he added.

It was a difficult day for Simon Dyson. The Englishman, who has shown an upturn in form in recent weeks after a tough start to the year, had been level with Karlberg and Liang after the opening round. But a double bogey on the 17th proved costly as he dropped back to three under for the tournament after his 74.

Karlberg, seeking his first in on the European Tour said: “It was a pretty tough day out there today because the wind got really strong in the middle of the round and caused quite a few problems. But I made a really good start to the round and then when the conditions got worse I managed to hang in there and then had a great finish with two birdies in my last few holes.