Maybe Lee Westwood felt the pressure on his World #1 ranking from Tiger Woods across the world. The Englishman shot a bogey-free 8-under 64 to take the lead after the second round in the Nedbank Golf Challenge. Woods has a four-shot lead after the second round in the Chevron World Challenge. If Woods wins and Westwood finishes outside of the first two in these golf tournaments, Woods is a good bet to recapture the World #1 spot.
Westwood is now 12-under through 36 holes at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa. Behind him at 9-under is fellow European Ryder Cup teammate Ross Fisher. Beyond that, there is Miguel Angel Jimenez, Padraig Harrington and Edoardo Molinari all tied at 6-under. Westwood hasn’t played much recently and didn’t like his chips or putts, but still managed to finish the second round a stroke off the course record of 63. That record is shared by Ernie Els, Henrik Stenson and Nick Watney. Westwood was well aware of the course record, having played with Stenson in 2008 when he shot a 63.
Els sits next in line on the leaderboard for the Nedbank Golf Challenge. He is sixth at 5-under after shooting a 68 in his second round. Tied for seventh at 4-under are Robert Allenby and Tim Clark. Retief Goosen, Justin Rose and Anders Hansen are tied for ninth at 2-under. And, Louis Oosthuizen is even-par and currently last in the 12-man field.
Adjusted Nedbank Gold Challenge Winner Odds (provided by Eurobet)
Lee Westwood: 4/11
Ross Fisher: 7/2
Padraig Harrington: 16/1
Miguel Angel Jimenez: 18/1
Edoardo Molinari: 22/1
Ernie Els: 22/1
Robert Allenby: 50/1
Tim Clark: 66/1
Retief Goosen: 100/1
Justin Rose: 125/1
Anders Hansen: 150/1
Louis Oosthuizen: 200/1