VALDERRAMA, October 28, 2011 (AFP) - Scotland's Richie Ramsay maintained his two-shot lead at the Andalucia Masters on Friday before setting his sights on getting the better of his 'idol' Sergio Garcia.
The 28-year-old, who carded a 65 in the first round, is five under par for the tournament after a two-birdie, three-bogey 72.
France's Gregory Havret reached the halfway point on three under while Garcia, winner of his home Castello Masters by 11 strokes last Sunday, is one further back after a second successive 70 on a lay-out where he has been a runner-up three times.
No Spaniard has won a European Tour event at Valderrama.
"Going up against one of your idols on a course, this is a dream situation," Ramsay said.
"I look forward to playing with Sergio, his natural ability and the way he plays golf is the way that I like to play golf. He likes to shape it and move it, and use some imagination - he’s probably the best person doing that in the game.
"He also connects to people, they like to go and watch him and he’s entertaining to watch. The guys out here appreciate how good he is and enjoy the fact that he’s back and playing well. I think we all want him to win a Major, but I hope he gives me a chance here."
Garcia, who ended a three-year title drought in Castellon last weekend, needs to win again on Sunday to qualify for next week's World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions in Shanghai.
"I could have been a little bit more aggressive with a couple of putts coming in, but my short game is pretty good right now," he said.
"It was difficult to hit fairways and to choose the right club. Thank God it’s soft because, if not, this would be Hell. But I’ve always enjoyed hard courses. Back-to-back wins would be a great thing, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself."
Leading second round scores of the EPGA Andalucia Masters on Friday (GBR & IRL unless stated, par 71):
137 - Richie Ramsay 65-72
139 - Gregory Havret (FRA) 68-71
140 - Sergio Garcia (ESP) 70-70
141 - Miguel Angel Jimenez (ESP) 71-70
142 - David Lynn 71-71
143 - Peter Hanson (SWE) 72-71, Romain Wattel (FRA) 73-70, Justin Rose 72-71, Thomas Bjorn (DEN) 73-70, Shane Lowry 72-71, Alejandro Canizares (ESP) 71-72, Peter Lawrie 70-73
144 - Francesco Molinari (ITA) 71-73, Christian Nilsson (SWE) 73-71, Stephen Gallacher 68-76, Stephen Dodd 71-73, Alexander Noren (SWE) 74-70, Oliver Wilson 73-71
145 - Gonzalo Fdez-Castano (ESP) 73-72, Raphael Jacquelin (FRA) 73-72
146 - David Drysdale 70-76, Graeme McDowell 73-73, Ross Fisher 67-79, Martin Kaymer (GER) 71-75, Rafael Echenique (ARG) 73-73
147 - Martin Wiegele (AUT) 71-76, Soren Kjeldsen (DEN) 72-75, Steve Webster 75-72, David Howell 72-75, Marcel Siem (GER) 74-73, Kenneth Ferrie 75-72, Pablo Larrazabal (ESP) 74-73, Brett Rumford (AUS) 73-74, Robert Rock 74-73, Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR) 75-72
Selected:
148 - Scott Strange (AUS) 70-78, Andrew Dodt (AUS) 76-72
149 - Matteo Manassero (ITA) 77-72, Jose-Maria Olazabal (ESP) 75-74
Missed cut:
151 - George Coetzee (RSA) 76-75, Edoardo Molinari (ITA) 77-74
152 - Shiv Kapur (IND) 76-76, James Kingston (RSA) 74-78
155 - Matthew Zions (AUS) 77-78, Marcus Fraser (AUS) 79-76
156 - Anthony Kang (USA) 77-79
157 - Keith Horne (RSA) 78-79
158 - Thomas Aiken (RSA) 81-77, Richard Green (AUS) 79-79
WD: 79 Paul McGinley