Tabuena, who had his first practice session at the Lake Karrinyup Country Club, knows that overcoming the fast greens around the course will be decisive in his bid to win the ISPS Handa Perth International, which sees the return of the best players from the Asian Tour to Australia for the first time since 2009.
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“It was just one of those days where you had to keep grinding, concentration had to be premium, and that’s the kind of pressure this golf course puts on you”.
She got off to a quick start with an eagle at the par-5 first hole, followed by two more birdies and another eagle on the par-5 seventh to make the turn in 30.
“I’m just feeling as though there’s some momentum that’s just lacking and there’s a few shots here and there that’s really stopping it from being a spectacular round of golf”, said Rumford. An extra metre of ball flight and the tee shot might have given the flagstick a shake.
Rumford’s round included an up-and-down to save par from the right-hand bunker on his final hole, much to the delight of the home crowd.
Rumford, who was born in the Western Australia city, sits alongside Peter Uihlein at 11-under going into the weekend as he chases a sixth European Tour victory.
Rumford, 38, had stomach surgery previous year which kept him off the tour for four months, but coped well with the scorching temperatures. The greens are getting pretty baked.
Australian Marcus Fraser, who won the Maybank Championship in Malaysia last week, was at 2 under with veteran Peter Senior.
Last year’s victor Denmark’s Thorbjorn Olesen opened with a one-under 71.
Australian Rhein Gibson is in fourth place on nine under after a 68, with his compatriot Jason Scrivener (67) one shot further back in fifth place. Levy shot five-under on Friday, a score he at one stage also reached on Thursday before struggling late.
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World No. 21 Louis Oosthuizen made a strong start to his second round with three birdies in his first four holes, but his hot run has since steadied, with the tournament favourite sitting at five-under after 11 holes.
