Charl Schwartzel Tied for Lead Through 36 at European Open

By Sam Belden | Sep 25, 2015

Charl Schwartzel is in the driver’s seat at Bad Griesbach. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

It hasn’t been the best month for South Africa’s Charl Schwartzel, but his early exit from the FedEx Cup playoffs does have something of a silver lining. With three weeks of his schedule wiped clean, the 31-year-old is currently in Germany for the first Porsche European Open in six years. It seems that committing to the tournament was a good decision–after firing off twin 66s, Schwartzel is tied for the 36-hole lead with Englishmen Ross Fisher and Graeme Storm.

Schwartzel has had a very steady couple of days. With eleven birdies and just one bogey, he’s clearly figured out how to score at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach. He’s missed just five greens in regulation and hasn’t found the bunker once over the course of the two rounds. If Schwartzel can continue to excel at his trademark brand of golf, then it won’t be surprising to see him posing with the trophy on Sunday afternoon.

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Fisher, 34, had the best second round of the three leaders, circling seven birdies en route to a 65. The five-time European Tour winner is in the midst of a mediocre season. A pair of backdoor top 10s stand as his best results of 2015.

Storm, 37, shot a 67 to move to his position. After going out in 33, he eagled the par 5 10th and played the rest of the round even par to end up tied with the other two leaders, a solid standing for the one-time European Tour champ. Storm himself, however, felt like he could have done more to improve his standing as the tournament heads to the weekend.

“You need to score on those holes, 11, 12 and 13,” Storm said. “I let myself down a bit on 13 with my only bogey of the week so far.”

Of course, those three aren’t the only contenders for the title. South Korea’s Byeong-hun An, the winner of this year’s BMW PGA Championship, is just one stroke behind after shooting a 65 in the second round. After bogeying the first, he played his next holes in seven-under; an eagle on 10 was the highlight. Englishman Richard McEvoy, after opening with rounds of 66 and 67, is tied with him for fourth.

Other notable players who currently inside the top 15 include Jamie Donaldson, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Thongchai Jaidee, Peter Uihlein and Soren Kjeldsen.

Just one day after opening with a 64, first round co-leader (and my No. 1 in this week’s power rankings) Bernd Wiesberger followed it up with a 76 and missed the cut by a stroke. Similarly, Hunter Mahan (the No. 2) shot rounds of 66 and 76 and also failed to advance to the weekend. Other notables to miss the cut include David Howell, David Horsey, Rafael Cabrera-Bello, Matteo Manassero and Chris Wood.

With all of that behind us, here are some brief predictions for the weekend:

Pick to win: Charl Schwartzel–It was a disappointing stateside season for Schwartzel, but nabbing the first European Open title in six years would help to make up for that. He’s playing well, both scoring-wise and statistically speaking–and let’s be honest, he’s overdue for a victory. Schwartzel hasn’t won on the European Tour since December of 2013.

Pick to surge: Joost Luiten–With twin 69s under his belt so far, this Dutchman has been solid, but not spectacular this week. If Luiten had minimized the mental errors and avoided the big numbers, he might be doing much better. The players in the field this week should be getting a better and better feel of the course each day, so Luiten looks like a good option for the weekend.

Pick to fade: Richard McEvoy–This veteran of the European and Challenge Tours probably didn’t expect to find himself just one stroke off of the lead heading into the weekend, but here we are. McEvoy, the world No. 675, hasn’t crashed too many leaderboards this year, and without a solid career resume to make up for that, he’s the most logical pick to take a tumble.

You can watch the Porsche European Open this weekend on Golf Channel, from 12 to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday.

Next: Meet the Man Behind Jordan Spieth: Michael Greller

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