AMERICAN Keegan Bradley had baseball on his mind when he grabbed the lead at the RM22 million CIMB Classic
when he posted a second round score of six-under 66 for a two round total of 13-under 131 at the Kuala Lumpur
Golf and Country Club yesterday.
Lying second after the opening round, he overtook overnight leader Ryan Moore, also from the United States by a
slim four shot lead.
Moore, who had a super nine-under 63 course record opening round, could only manage an even par, for a 135
total -- but it was good enough for the second spot.
Tied-third was Thailand's Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who shot a three-under 69 for an eight-under 136 two-round total.
He shared the spot with American Chris Stroud, who also had a three-under 69 yesterday.
Bradley, a three-time PGA Tour winner, has 14 birdies and only has one bogey to show after 36 holes, at the Par
Four 13th hole yesterday.
"These two rounds were really fun and I played some of the best golf after a long time. So these have been a
couple of really fun days and obviously, I'm in a great spot here with two more rounds to go," said Bradley.
And what was on his mind as he posted six burdies while many of the top players in the field fell apart?
"Well, I was also keeping abreast of the World Series where my favourite team Boston Red Sox were playing at
about the same time as me. My girlfriend, Jullian, is a big Red Sox fan too and she was giving me updates as best
as she could.
"It is tough that we did not get to watch the World Series, even though I know there will be a replay later today
(yesterday), but its more fun knowing what's going on live, in the end I heard they losy 4-2," said Bradley.
"On Thursday when I shot seven-under, the Red Sox won and I got a bunch of texts from some of the guys that
play and they were all excited. And I also know that my mom back home was also flipping (TV) back and forth
watching baseball and golf!," said the CIMB Classic leader.
Back to golf, Bradley said the humidity does not bother him, as he lives in the same conditions back home.
"It is very hot here, but I love in Florida and it humid in summertime. Here it is hotter for sure, but I'm quite used
to it.
"Today (yesterday) I was in control of my golf so that is really a good sign going into the weekend. I'm very
excited with the way I'm hitting the ball, and when I'm hitting like this, normally I'm going to be right in there
contending for the title, and that could be the case here," said Bradley.
Moore, making his third consecutive CIMB Classic appearance, finished tied-fifth in 2010, and withdrew during
the final round in 2011.
"Well obviously It wasn't the round I was looking for. But amazingly, I actually controlled the ball really well but
could not make the putts that I wanted. I was happy with my ball striking, but just didn't bury those 8 to 12 footers,
which was my range on the greens today (yesterday)," said Moore.
But he is still in contention going into the weekend.
"It's hard sometimes when you feel you've hit a really low score, but I've got to look at the positive side that I'm
closest to the leader. Going to sleep early and waking up like 4am to go get a nive workout might just make my day
better in the third round," said Moore.
Scores after round 2 of the 2013 CIMB Classic being played at the par 72, 6924 Yards Kuala Lumpur GCC course (a- denotes amateur):
131 - Keegan Bradley (USA) 65-66.
135 - Ryan Moore (USA) 63-72.
136 - Kiradech Aphibarnrat (THA) 67-69, Chris Stroud (USA) 67-69.
137 - Sergio Garcia (ESP) 66-71, Marc Leishman (AUS) 72-65.
138 - Martin Laird (SCO) 68-70, Harris English (USA) 71-67, Chris Kirk (USA) 67-71, Gary Woodland (USA) 68-70, Stewart Cink (USA) 70-68, Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) 70-68.
139 - Bill Haas (USA) 72-67, Wade Ormsby (AUS) 70-69, K.J. Choi (KOR) 68-71, Graham DeLaet (CAN) 72-67, Shiv Kapur (IND) 69-70.
140 - Aaron Baddeley (AUS) 73-67, Josh Teater (USA) 74-66, Jerry Kelly (USA) 71-69, Jeff Overton (USA) 73-67, Kyle Stanley (USA) 73-67, Kevin Stadler (USA) 71-69, Nicholas Thompson (USA) 69-71.
141 - Charles Howell III (USA) 69-72, Phil Mickelson (USA) 71-70, Boo Weekley (USA) 67-74, Tim Clark (RSA) 72-69, Charley Hoffman (USA) 69-72, Billy Horschel (USA) 72-69, Rory Sabbatini (RSA) 67-74, Camilo Villegas (COL) 70-71.
