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World Cup of Golf 2016: Denmark dominating after brilliant second round
By Sam McClure
The "train that arrives on time" and his younger teammate have helped Denmark take a stranglehold of the World Cup of Golf after streaking ahead during the second round at Kingston Heath.
Soren Kjeldsen and Thorbjorn Olesen, ranked 45th and 67th in the world respectively, shot an incredible 12-under round of 60 – including two eagles – to go three shots clear at the halfway mark of the competition.
Great Danes: Thorbjorn Olesen and Soren Kjeldsen at Kingston Heath on Friday.Credit: Getty Images
The duo was six-under at the turn, after eagles on holes three and eight and birdies on four and five.
The pair then had five birdies in a row to start the back nine, before Kjeldsen capped off a superb round by hitting an approach to within a metre on the 18th and tapping in for birdie.
Kjeldsen and Olesen represent an intriguing partnership.
At 41, Kjeldsen is the steady player who's the calming influence on the inconsistent but very talented Olesen, 15 years his junior.
To put his inconsistency in perspective, in Olesen's last eight events, he has won one, missed the cut in four and failed to finish inside the top 25 in the other three.
But both were on song during the second round in blustery conditions.
"I'm like a train … I arrive on time," Kjeldsen laughed as he juxtaposed his conservative style with Olesen's flashy strokeplay.
"It's a good combination; I think sometimes it's actually an advantage that you don't play the same way.
"I was driving it pretty short but pretty straight, I was in the fairway the whole time. Then Thorbjorn can get up and feel nice and loose and rip it out there, it worked well."
Olesen added: "It kept me relaxed, I know I can trust Soren."
China's Wu Ashun and Li Haotong also surprised the rest of the field by bolting up the leaderboard to finish three shots back in second place at nine-under.
First-round leaders Spain, through Rafa Cabrera Bello and Jon Rahm, are third at eight-under.
After shooting 70 on Thursday, Wu and Li carded a bogey-less round of 65, including three birdies in the first four holes.
The two know each other well, after competing in Rio together during the Olympic Games in August; both sit well outside the top 100 in world rankings.
American's Rickie Fowler and Jimmy Walker remain five shots back after carding a 67 to be at seven-under for the tournament.
New Zealand's pairing of Danny Lee and Ryan Fox also had an exciting second day, shooting an eight-under round of 64 after a disappointing 75 in the opening round.
Fox, who finished in a tie for fourth after an exhilarating Australian Open at Royal Sydney last week, said he was close to career-best form.
"I'd say I probably played a little better last week than I have so far this week, but it's very, very close.
"We always thought this would kind of be our format and we played nicely today. Danny hit some great iron shots the whole way through the round, he holed some nice puts and I managed to play the par fives pretty well. We combined really well as a team," Fox said.
"Obviously we'd love to get our names on the trophy, I don't think there's been a New Zealand pair win it.
"It's always nice to get one over you guys especially on your home soil, we'll leave it at that," he added with a smirk.
The tournament returns to foursomes format for Saturday's third round and will finish Sunday's final round with the more traditional fourball format.