Robin Sciot-Siegrist Leads ISPS Handa Vic Open By Two At Halfway

Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist is the leader of the ISPS Handa Vic Open at the halfway stage thanks to a wonderful second round of 64.

Robin Sciot-Siegrist followed on from a six-under=par 66 on the opening day of the ISPS Handa Vic Open to go two shots better on day two, and he now sits at -14 ahead of the weekend’s action in what has been a very low-scoring tournament so far.

The Frenchman, who has yet to win on the European Tour, has had just a single dropped shot across his opening 36 holes at 13th Beach Golf Links in Geelong, Australia, and he went bogey-free on the second day, with four birdies on the from nine and four birdies on the back nine.

Within three shots of the leader is a quintet of Australians who are looking for a victory on home soil. Travis Smyth is the leading Aussie so far, sitting at -12, two shots behind the Frenchman, in solo 2nd place.

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Matthew Griffin, Min Woo Lee, Jake McLeod, and Jed Morgan all sit at -11, three off the lead, with the latter currently holding the position of the leading amateur.

Overnight leader Alejandro Canizares could only follow up his opening 63 with a one-under-par 71 as he dropped down from the top spot into a tie for 7th, alongside 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy, among others.

The man who topped the rankings at the Final Stage of Qualifying School in November, Benjamin Poke, is currently at -9, five back from the leader. Other Europeans, including the likes of Rikard Karlberg, Sam Horsfield and Wil Besseling all made the cut, which was at a very low -5.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox is also through to the weekend’s action, sitting at -6, eight shots behind the leader, while Anthony Quayle rescued himself on Friday. The Aussie posted a three-over-par 75 on opening day but came back to shoot 64, the joint-low round of the day, alongside the leader, to move to -5 and get under the cut line.

However, for the likes of Simon Hawkes, who shot a one-over 73, reigning ISPS Handa Vic Open champion David Law, and Chinese star Haotong Li, they all just failed to make it.

Australian Wade Ormsby, American John Catlin and Englishman Garrick Porteous all finished the tournament under-par, but have not made it through to the weekend’s play in Geelong.

It was a bad week for Joel Sjöholm, the man who finished runner-up at the season-opening Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa, as he filled to shoot under-par in either round, ending the week at +5.

Back at the top, and Saturday’s final trio, which includes leader Robin Sciot-Siegrist, 2nd place man Travis Smyth, and the leading amateur Jed Morgan, who is in that group at T3, will get their third rounds underway at 13:30 (GMT+11).

With the running of the Ladies’ European Tour event alongside this, there will be a two-tee set-up, with the action beginning at 07:10, with both Ryan and Daniel Fox playing alongside Gareth Paddison from the first tee, while Steven Jeffress, Ben Eccles and Daniel Hillier in an all-Australian three-ball.

Leaderboard (AUS unless stated):

1 (-14): Robin Sciot-Siegrist (FRA)

2 (-12): Travis Smyth

T3 (-11): Matthew Griffin, Min Woo Lee, Jake McLeod, Jed Morgan (A)

Selected Others:

T7 (-10): Alejandro Canizares (ESP), Geoff Ogilvy, Nick Flanagan

T13 (-9): Marcus Fraser, Stephen Allan, Benjamin Poke (DEN)

T21 (-8): Andre Lautee (A), Wil Besseling (NED), Hugo Leon (CHL)

T29 (-7): Justin Warren, Sam Horsfield (ENG), Rikard Karlberg (SWE)

T43 (-6): Ryan Fox (NZL), Matthew Jordan (ENG)

T57 (-5): Anthony Quayle, Lucas Herbert, Jason Scrivener

Missed Cut:

T73 (-4): Simon Hawkes, David Law (SCO), Haotong Li (CHN)

T89 (-3): Wade Ormsby, John Catlin (USA), Garrick Porteous (ENG)

T137 (+5): Joel Sjöholm (SWE)

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