Peter Hedblom moved one step closer to claiming a fairytale victory that would secure his status on the European Tour next year. After sharing the lead with three other players after the opening day at Lake Karrinyup, the 43-year-old Swede, who has three Tour wins to his name, pulled two shots ahead of the field at the halfway stage of the ISPS Handa Perth International in Australia.
At the culmination of this tournament, the top 110 players on the Race to Dubai money list will secure their playing cards on the Tour for next season. Hedblom is one of those players outside that coveted group, with his situation being particularly perilous at 179th in the rankings. Ultimately, in order to avoid an 11th visit to Qualifying School, Hedblom needs to win in Western Australia, and it’s a challenge that he relishes.
“Definitely; I love fairy tales,” said Hedblom, when asked after his second round of 69 if a dream victory was possible.
”My best friend on Tour, Michael Jonzon, in 2009 he was like me, way back and needed to win.
”I think he needed top three in Castellon in 2009, which was his last tournament, and he won it, beat Martin Kaymer. That was a fairytale story.”
If Hedblom is to pen his own fairytale story, then he will need to hold off a bunched chasing pack, which is headed by England’s Ross Fisher.
Before Hedblom got underway in the afternoon, Fisher had ascended to the summit of the leaderboard after a second round of 67 took him to five-under for the tournament. However, the Swede, whose last win came at Gleneagles in 2009, would regain the lead after two early birdies at the first and fourth. He would make bogey at the sixth, but he bounced back superbly with birdies at the seventh and ninth to complete the front nine in 33 shots.
As he entered the back nine, Hedblom would twice extend his lead via birdies on the 13th and 15th, but bogeys at the 14th and 17th undermined that progress leaving him at seven-under for the tournament after 36-holes.
“It's been two great days,” Hedblom continued. “But my golf is strange right now, because I hit really good shots, and some really poor shots, but my putting has been good. So it's great right now to be leading.
”It's been a while – 2009 was my last win, but I know I have the game to do it. Right now would be good. We'll see, I think the closer you get to Sunday it's going to be harder.
”I don't really have anything to lose. If I want to play another full year on Tour, I need to win. You just have to go for it and have fun.”
Fisher, who has four European Tour wins to his name, has his own ambitions this weekend down under. The former Ryder Cup player is 65th on the Race to Dubai, with just the top 60 qualifying for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
The 32-year-old, who had a largely unsuccessful stint on the PGA Tour earlier this year, would make six birdies in his second round, with one coming courtesy of a chip-in on the sixth. He would drop one shot however, at the 18th, which was his ninth hole of the day, to settle for a five-under round of 67.
”I want to try and get in the top 60,” Fisher said of his ambitions
”It would be for me a great achievement having played the first half of the year in the States. My first tournament in Europe counting wise wasn't till May.
“So I've always been playing catch up, but I can be really proud of how I've played the second half of the year.
”A good week here, hopefully that gets me into next week in China. Not out of the question if I won this week, hopefully that would put me into the HSBC - that would be huge. There are some big tournaments left: obviously this week first and hopefully I can do enough here to get myself into next week, possibility the HSBC, Turkey and Dubai.
”The ultimate goal would be to get myself into Dubai, but I need to play very well this week to allow myself to try and get into next week.”
Soren Hansen, Korea’s former Amateur Champion Jin Jeong and Australians Clint Rice, Josh Younger and Dimitrios Papadatos are all in a tie for third at four-under.
For the Dane, Hansen, 2013 has been a far cry from his defining season in 2008 that saw him participate in the Ryder Cup at Valhalla. The 39-year-old has fallen to 137th on the Race to Dubai this year, however he will have a reprieve next season as he is inside the top 40 in the career money list, which grants him an exemption in 2014.
“Obviously that relaxes me a little bit and I feel for the guys who are playing for their privilege to play on The European Tour,” said Hansen.
However, with 36-holes to play, the great escape is still on for Peter Hedblom.