Min Woo Lee will go into the weekend at the ISPS Handa Vic Open three shots off the lead as he bids to emulate sister Minjee, who has twice tasted success in the women’s Vic Open.
The 21-year-old from Western Australia, who is searching for his first European Tour victory, backed up his six under par first round at 13th Beach Golf Links with a bogey-free five under par 67 to reach 11 under.
Minjee, two years older than Min Woo, won her first professional title as an amateur at the Vic Open in 2014 and then won her second title at this same venue in 2018. She finds herself in a similar position to her sibling in the women’s event, which is taking place concurrently at Barwon Heads, sitting in a share of sixth, four strokes behind Madelene Sagstrom.
Leading the men’s tournament is Frenchman Robin Sciot-Siegrist, who carded the pick of today’s rounds on the Creek Course, a flawless eight under par 64 to move to 14 under par. The 26-year-old, who graduated from Qualifying School, is hoping to take lessons learned from an eighth place finish at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in December into the weekend as he bids for a European Tour victory on just his eighth start.
Travis Smyth is solo second on 12 under par, while the trio of Matthew Griffin, Jake McLeod and amateur Jediah Morgan join Lee in third place.
In a share of seventh are six golfers, including first-round leader Alejandro Cañizares, of Spain, Northern Irishman Jonathan Caldwell and home favourite Geoff Ogilvy, who won the U.S. Open in 2006.
The ISPS Handa Vic Open sees men’s and women’s tournaments take place concurrently on the same golf courses at 13th Beach Golf Links, for equal prize money. The top 60 and ties from both tournaments after the first two rounds advanced through to Saturday, with a further cut of the top 35 and ties taking place after tomorrow’s third round.
After alternating rounds on the Beach and Creek Courses, the final two rounds will be played on the Beach Course, with alternating tee times between the men’s and women’s competitions.
Player Quotes
Min Woo Lee: “There’s a lot of positives to take out. I did hit a lot of good shots and a lot of putts, so I’m just really looking forward to tomorrow and the next day. It’s nice when you’re playing pretty good golf, so I’m keen for it.
“I love the crowds. I had a big crowd the last two days and it’s only Thursday and Friday, which is awesome – the support has been so good. Everyone’s backing me, which is nice. Also being with the family is so good. You know, home‑cooked meals, I haven’t had that much over the last few years so it’s awesome.
“I think if [Minjee and I] were on a sports bet, I’m winning, aren’t I – position on the leaderboard and scores too. I like my chances.”
Robin Sciot-Siegrist: “There’s two more days and I’m pretty happy with what we’ve done, but we’re only halfway. I played really good golf, hopefully it continues like that.
“The result [in Mauritius] was great, I had a great weekend and finished top ten. It was my second event on the European Tour this season. I haven’t played many European Tour events, so it’s a little bit different. Mauritius was a great experience to build up that confidence and know that I’m on the right path. It’s nice to come here and after two days be leading the tournament.”
Alejandro Cañizares: “Today wasn’t as pretty. I didn’t have my best game off the tee and missed a few ones, but I managed to get to one under. In the end I made a good putt for par on the last.
“It’s tough, I haven’t slept very well all week because of the time change, but it’s normal, it’s expected here. I just tried to do my best, that’s all I could do.”
Jonathan Caldwell: “I’ve been playing pretty solid all year, so nice to get another good week and two rounds under my belt. It’s a long way to come for one week but looks like it’s worth it. Nice weekend to make it definitely a worthwhile trip.”
Scores after round two:
130 R Sciot-Siegrist (Fra) 66 64;
132 T Smyth (Aus) 65 67;
133 J McLeod (Aus) 65 68; M Lee (Aus) 66 67; M Griffin (Aus) 65 68; J Morgan (am) (Aus) 66 67;
134 J Felton (Aus) 67 67; N Flanagan (Aus) 67 67; S Wools Cobb (Aus) 67 67; G Ogilvy (Aus) 67 67; A Cañizares (Esp) 63 71; J Caldwell (Nir) 67 67;
135 A Martin (Aus) 66 69; A Hall (Aus) 67 68; S Allan (Aus) 70 65; M Fraser (Aus) 70 65; Z Murray (Aus) 66 69; B Poke (Den) 68 67; B Collyer (Aus) 68 67; L Van Meijel (Ned) 68 67;
136 M Stieger (Aus) 67 69; D Ackerman (USA) 67 69; M Hendry (Nzl) 67 69; H Leon (Chi) 68 68; W Besseling (Ned) 67 69; S Arnold (Aus) 68 68; A Chesters (Eng) 69 67; A Lautee (am) (Aus) 69 67;
137 C Sharvin (Nir) 70 67; K Yuan (Aus) 69 68; A Evans (Aus) 66 71; N Lemke (Swe) 70 67; J Younger (Aus) 68 69; H Tanihara (Jpn) 70 67; J Warren (Aus) 65 72; P Wilson (Aus) 67 70; R Karlberg (Swe) 69 68; A Cockerill (Can) 66 71; S Crocker (USA) 67 70; B Rankin (Aus) 70 67; D Smail (Nzl) 68 69; S Horsfield (Eng) 70 67;
138 D Fox (Aus) 70 68; B Kennedy (Aus) 66 72; B Eccles (Aus) 68 70; C Crawford (Aus) 70 68; D Ieremia (Nzl) 70 68; M Millar (Aus) 72 66; G Paddison (Nzl) 67 71; L Tighe (Aus) 69 69; D Hillier (Nzl) 68 70; B Windred (Aus) 69 69; M Jordan (Eng) 72 66; P Lonard (Aus) 69 69; S Valimaki (Fin) 69 69; R Fox (Nzl) 67 71;
139 D Coupland (Eng) 70 69; S Jeffress (Aus) 67 72; R Morrison (Sco) 69 70; N Cullen (Aus) 68 71; D Beck (Aus) 69 70; P Fowler (Aus) 69 70; R McCarthy (Aus) 68 71; L Toomey (Nzl) 71 68; A Quayle (Aus) 75 64; R Green (Aus) 70 69; L Herbert (Aus) 70 69; A Townsend (Aus) 69 70; S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 68 71; J Scrivener (Aus) 68 71; C Lee (Kor) 68 71; M Dive (Aus) 69 70;
140 C Syme (Sco) 72 68; H Li (Chn) 69 71; K Michel (Aus) 69 71; K McBride (Aus) 72 68; D Gale (Aus) 72 68; J Marchesani (Aus) 70 70; N O’Hern (Aus) 70 70; M Jager (Aus) 71 69; S Hawkes (Aus) 67 73; A Dodt (Aus) 70 70; J Anstiss (Nzl) 69 71; D Law (Sco) 68 72; T Power Horan (Aus) 71 69; T Pilkadaris (Aus) 68 72; M Sim (Aus) 69 71; C John (Aus) 72 68;
141 J Grierson (Aus) 71 70; J Catlin (USA) 70 71; T Macdonald (Aus) 68 73; G Porteous (Eng) 71 70; B Watt (Aus) 69 72; C O’Reilly (Aus) 73 68; W Ormsby (Aus) 71 70; D Brandt-Richards (Aus) 72 69; C Rawson (Nzl) 74 67;
142 D Papadatos (Aus) 69 73; D Bransdon (Aus) 70 72; M McCardle (Aus) 72 70; D Williamson (Aus) 72 70; J Zunic (Aus) 69 73; B Rumford (Aus) 70 72; Y Hsu (am) (Tpe) 70 72;
143 J Kaske (Fin) 73 70; L De Jager (RSA) 75 68; C Dann (Aus) 71 72; J Geary (Nzl) 75 68;
144 P Cooke (Aus) 73 71; B Proverbs (Aus) 73 71; D Nisbet (Aus) 71 73; H Bateman (Nzl) 75 69; D Van Driel (Ned) 71 73; D Whitnell (Eng) 72 72; J Norris (Aus) 71 73; J Armstrong (am) (Aus) 77 67; L Dobbelar (am) (Aus) 70 74;
145 R Woodward (Aus) 74 71; Q Howe (Aus) 70 75; J Lyras (Aus) 76 69; A Pike (Aus) 76 69; H Kong (Aus) 74 71; A Schonewille (Aus) 75 70; S Yongcharoenchai (Tha) 72 73; A Simpson (Aus) 72 73;
146 M Antcliff (Aus) 73 73; A Marchesani (Aus) 73 73;
147 M Dowling (Aus) 72 75; R Kulacz (Aus) 74 73; D Perry (Aus) 77 70; P O’Malley (Aus) 72 75; J Clarke (Aus) 74 73; Y Liu (am) (Tpe) 72 75;
148 T Gill (Nzl) 70 78; Y Chang (Kor) 76 72; R Hogan (Aus) 72 76;
149 J Mackenzie (Aus) 74 75; L Radcliffe (Aus) 78 71; J Sjöholm (Swe) 77 72; C Su (am) (Tpe) 72 77;
150 D Micheluzzi (Aus) 74 76; R Chisnall (Nzl) 72 78; L Yip (Aus) 74 76;
153 L Brown (Nzl) 82 71;
