Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2015: Friday Leaderboard Scores and Highlights
Professional debutant Jimmy Mullen kept his cool out in front on Day 2 of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, as he and Anthony Wall share the lead at the halfway stage of this unique tournament on 11-under par.
The co-leaders both played the St Andrews course on Day 2, forging a one-shot lead ahead of the chasing pack. Mullen and Wall hit rounds of three-under par (69) and four-under par (68), respectively, while a sensational seven-under par (65) from Jamie Donaldson put him in a tie for third with Paul Dunne and Chris Stroud.
Here’s a recap of the action from Scotland and a closer examination of the tournament leaderboard as we head into what should be a gripping weekend of golf.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| T1 | Jimmy Mullen | -11 | 69 | St Andrews |
| T1 | Anthony Wall | -11 | 68 | St Andrews |
| T3 | Jamie Donaldson | -10 | 65 | Kingsbarns |
| T3 | Paul Dunne | -10 | 70 | St Andrews |
| T3 | Chris Stroud | -10 | 66 | Kingsbarns |
| T3 | Thorbjorn Olesen | -10 | 66 | Kingsbarns |
| 7 | Garth Mulroy | -9 | 68 | St Andrews |
| T8 | Bradley Dredge | -8 | 63 | Kingsbarns |
| T8 | Alejandro Canizares | -8 | 67 | Carnoustie |
| T8 | Martin Kaymer | -8 | 68 | Kingsbarns |
| T8 | Benjamin Hebert | -8 | 67 | St Andrews |
| T8 | Nathan Holman | -8 | 68 | St Andrews |
To access the full leaderboard, visit the European Tour's official website by clicking here.
Mullen’s Dream Debut Continues
After a sublime 64 at Kingsbarns on Day 1 of this championship, many expected Mullen to be content with a remarkable debut round in professional golf. But the Englishman backed his first day heroics up, shooting a solid round of three-under par at St Andrews.
It’s testament to the standard of amateur tournaments that Mullen can come into a setting such as this one and thrive. Indeed, Dunne, who is just one shot back on 10-under, is also making his maiden professional bow this weekend; he also shot 64 on Day 1 at Kingsbarns, consolidating with a round of 70 on Friday.
Mullen offered up some explanations as to why both he and Dunne were faring so well, per the European Tour’s official Twitter feed:
Wall pushed himself into contention on Friday, too. After an inconsistent beginning to his round, which contained three bogeys and two birdies on the opening nine, the Englishman caught fire on the run for home. He made five birdies in the last nine holes, including four in succession between holes four and seven.
Donaldson was one of many players who took advantage of the simpler setup at Kingsbarns on Day 2, putting together a round of 65 that included just one bogey blemish. The Welshman revealed afterwards he was very pleased with how he played, per EuropeanTour.com.
“I played pretty nicely,” said the Ryder Cup star. “There’s a lot of chances out there especially when the wind dropped a bit. Earlier on when it was quite cool the ball wasn’t going very far and then it warmed up which enabled me to hit it closer to the pins.”
After striking the ball so well on Friday, it was little surprise Donaldson cut such a relaxed figure, as we can see here:
Interestingly, the low round of the day didn’t come from Donaldson, although 11 of the lowest 12 scores posted on Friday were from Kingsbarns. The best of those came from Bradley Dredge and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who were immaculate in shooting nine-under par rounds of 63. Dredge and Aphibarnrat find themselves on eight-under and six-under for the championship, respectively.
As we can see here, the manner in which Dredge started his day really set a positive tone for the rest of his round:
The most high-profile name in the upper echelons of the leaderboard is two-time major winner Martin Kaymer, who is nicely poised on eight under. He made it back-to-back scores of 68 with another solid round on Friday and will be hopeful of pushing on over the weekend.
The amiable German has been a little short of rhythm recently, but he showcased some signs that he’s back in good touch again while out on the Kingsbarns course:
The unique style of this tournament means we wont get a true reflection of how the leaderboard is shaping up until each of the players have completed rounds at Kingsbarns, St Andrews and Carnoustie. But it’s hard not to be impressed with the standards set by the likes of Dunne and Mullen on their pro debuts.
Kaymer is a player who has looked very handy over the course of the opening two days, and if he does start to hole putts, he will be right in the mix for glory.
Alejandro Canizares is another to watch out for; he’s on eight under but still has the favourable Kingsbarns course to play on Day 3 before Sunday’s finale.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
