Hero World Challenge. Gary Woodland Leads.

Gary Woodland will take a one shot advantage into the final round of the Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club in The Bahamas.

    Gary / getty

Gary carded a third round -4 under par 68 to lead the Hero World Challenge by one shot at -13 under par.

In second place at -12 under is Henrik Stenson, Sweden, -4 under 68,

Tournament host Tiger Woods and playing partner Justin Thomas both signed for third rounds of -5 under 67, best rounds of the day, to be tied in third place at -11 under par with Jon Rahm from Spain who carded -3 under 69 today.

Magical Kenya Ladies Open. Julia Jumps Magically Ahead.

Julia Engström of Sweden jumps six ahead after two rounds of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open at Vipingo Ridge  Golf Course in Kenya, in her quest for a maiden Ladies European Tour win.

Julia / getty

Julia carded a second round -6 under par 66 to post -11 under at the top of the Magical Kenya Ladies Open leaderboard, giving her a six shot cushion for the week-end, with good putting being the key, and an average driving distance of 272 yards;

“I didn’t hole that many putts in the middle of the round, but I finished off well.”

“I played solid and hit more greens today, so I’m happy with my round.”

“Obviously it’s golf and anything can happen. It’s a tough course, we are playing it long and you need to play decent. I’m very happy with my first two rounds.”

“It’s my first time in Kenya and I’m really enjoying it. It’s quite hot, but it’s pretty cold in Sweden right now, so I’m enjoying the last sunshine of the year.”

Kelsey McDonald, Scotland, -4 under 68 today, Ursula Wikstrom, Finland, -4 under 68, and Esther Henseleit of Germany with -1 under 70, all share second place those six shots back at -5 under par.

 

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. Calum Hill Hits The Front.

Calum Hill from Scotland hits the front at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open with a one shot advantage at the half-way stage at Heritage Golf Club in Mauritius.

Calum / getty

Calum signed for a second round -8 under par 64 to lead the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open at -12 under for 36 holes, getting his putter working well today;

“So far, so good, we seem to be following the sunshine so we’re always playing in warm weather and the courses are in great condition, so can’t complain.”

“I haven’t noticed a huge difference yet coming from Challenge Tour. Obviously the fields are stronger but it’s the same as every tournament you play, you go out and do your best, see where that puts you at the end of the week and dig in when you need to.”

“The last couple of days the game has been nice. I managed to get the putter going well today, which added up to a good score. Last week was a slow start and I played better at the weekend. It’s just built on from there.”

 Brandon Stone, South Africa, -5 under 67 today, Thomas Detry, Belgium, -6 under 66, and Matthieu Pavon from France, also -6 under 66, all share second place at -11 under.

Hero World Challenge. Patrick Reed Comfortable at the Top.

Patrick Reed has a comfortable three shot lead at the top of the Hero World Challenge leaderboard at Albany Golf Club in The Bahamas.

Patrick / getty

Patrick carded another -6 under par 66 round to lead the Hero World Challenge by three shots at -12 under par;

“It’s one of those golf courses that when the wind lays down, it gives you opportunities to make birdies.”

“But when the wind starts blowing, the golf course can get really challenging.”

“You need to give yourself as many opportunities as you can.”

Gary Woodland is in second place at -9 under par, after his second round -3 under 69, which could have been worse, he made three birdies on the last three holes;

“It was huge. I needed that, got me back in the golf tournament and gave me a chance for this week.”

Tied in third place at -8 under par were Henrik Stenson, Sweden, -5 under 67 today, and defending champion Jon Rahm from Spain with his second round -6 under 66.

Tournament host Tiger Woods also signed for -6 under 66 today to be T5 with Rickie Fowler, -3 under 69, and Justin Thomas with his second round of -3 under 69, all at -8 under par.

Tiger said is was a bit easier today, plus the knee surgery has helped him to rotate better, and be able to bend down to read the putts;

“I just think it was less windy, it was a little bit easier today.”

“I can drive the ball a little better because I can rotate, and I can putt the ball better because I can get down and read putts again.”

 “Toward the end of the year, I couldn’t do that.”

 

Magical Kenya Ladies Open. Julia Engström Leads

Julia Engström of Sweden leads the Magical Kenya Ladies Open after the first round at Vipingo Ridge  Golf Course in Kenya.A Happy Julia / getty

Julia carded -5 under par 67 to lead the Magical Kenya Ladies Open, the season opening tournament, by one shot;

“It was a combination of decent ball-striking and then being good around the greens.”

“The wind started blowing from the fourth hole as a thunderstorm was coming in close by and we could feel that, but it was nice to have some breeze because it was so hot.”

“It’s always nice to have a few good tournaments and after last week, I tried to stay calm and not stress out too much.”

Liz Young, England, has second place at -4 under following her opening effort of 68, after an early morning confrontation with a large spider in the shower;

“At 5.30am, I walked into the bathroom and there was the biggest huntsman spider in the shower, terrifying me.”

“My roommate (Eleanor Givens) was still asleep so I had to be quiet.”

“She has informed me that it’s gone, but I really hope it’s gone down the drain and not into the bedroom.”

Sharing third place at -3 under were Esther Henseleit from Germany and Astrid Vayson de Pradenne, from France.

Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open. Six Tied at the Top.

Six players are tied at he top of the Afrasia Bank Mauritius Open at Heritage Golf Club  in Mauritius. Rasmus Højgaard, Denmark, Benjamin Hebert and Romain Langasque, from France, Brandon Stone, South Africa, and Grant Forrest from Scotland all fired opening rounds of -6 under par 66.Rasmus / getty

Rasmus would like to be Rookie of the Year;

“It was great, I played well and gave myself a lot of chances.”

“Rookie of the Year would be very nice but it will definitely take some good results to get that.”

“I’ll just try to play as well as I can and see where I end up.”

Benjamine just had some fun out on the course;

“It’s always nice to start a tournament in this way.”

“I played well, it was nice. I enjoy the course, it is in very good condition. I think I played good, quite solid.”

“It was a good round of golf, it was pretty fun out there.”

Hero World Challenge. Two at the Top.

Gary Woodland and Patrick Reed are tied at the top of the Hero World Challenge leaderboard after round one at a very windy Albany Golf Club in The Bahamas.

           Gary & Patrick

Gary and Patrick both shot opening rounds of -6 under par 66 to lead the Hero World Challenge by two shots on day one.

Patrick is using his own new custom design clubs, and did not agree with the official stats for his first round;

“They actually just threw up my stats while I was just outside, and it said I only hit 11 out of 18 greens, but I felt like I hit it a lot better than that.”

“I felt like I hit a lot of iron shots exactly how I was looking at, flighting it how I wanted to, holding it into the wind, et cetera.”

“So just kind of one of those things that I feel like the irons were doing well, the swing was doing well.”

Gary said the wind today was a big factor, even when putting;

“Sometimes it’s better to miss the green than be in the middle of the green putting downwind.”

 “We tried to play into the wind all day today, and we did that. We controlled the golf ball enough where we did that and gave ourselves a lot of chances.”

Chez Reavie has third place to himself at -4 under after his first round 68, which included a double bogey seven at the par five 9th hole.

The two Justin’s, Thomas, USA, and Rose, England, share fourth place with rounds of -3 under par 69.

Tournament host Tiger Woods opened with an even par round of 72, to be T11;

“It was not a very good start,” didn’t play the par fives well early and then got it going on the back nine a little bit.”

“Got myself right there in the mix and then bad shots on 17, 18.”