Lora Fairclough leads Ladies
German Open by one

FROM THE LADIES EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
England’s Lora Fairclough is hoping to mark the 10th anniversary of her 1998 German Open victory with another win this week at the HypoVereinsbank Ladies German Open presented by Audi.
Fairclough, who won the most recent of her four Ladies European Tour titles at Treudelberg Golf and Country Club north of Hamburg, is hoping to follow up with a victory at Golfpark Gut Häusern near Munich. She is well on her way after adding a superb 68 to her opening 66, finishing on ten-under-par at the halfway stage of the tournament.
After a day of glorious sunshine and temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius, second round play was suspended for almost two hours from 5.40pm due to thunder and lightning.
Fairclough was standing on the 18th tee at the time with one hole to play and she said: “I like my life too much to stay out there!” She signed for a regulation par at the last and a one shot lead over Italy’s Veronica Zorzi. Thailand’s Titiya Plucksataporn and Spaniards Marta Prieto and Paula Marti finished the day in third on eight-under-par. Fairclough began her round with three straight birdies and added another at the par-four 10th, where she played a soft wedge in to 10 feet and sank the putt.
“I’m just hitting every shot as I take it and find it and what will be after that will be. I’ve hit some bad shots but I’m keeping my head and that’s what it’s all about,” said Fairclough, a 17-year member of the LET who now lives in Worthing, West Sussex. She admitted that her form had slumped since her last LET victory ten years ago, but that it was returning. “It went downhill gradually and possibly without me even being aware of it,” she said.
“When I turned pro in ’91 I was really lucky and my career went dreamily really, up until about 2001. I didn’t enjoy playing in America and I think that unsettled me a bit. I went in ’97 to begin with then I went back again which was a mistake really because you need to be playing good golf to be over there. Things just weren’t right. I wasn’t happy with certain things in my life and it was just one of those periods. I’ve not really recovered since then golf wise.
“My mental attitude is a lot better now but golf, I’m working on it. Even moving down south, I’ve lived in the same village for 38 years and that was a really hard thing to do. I don’t think I stopped crying for the first week! It’s nice but I miss everyone so much, it’s really hard.” Fairclough will play with Zorzi at 12.39pm in the third round, the Italian having won twice on the LET, most recently in 2006.
Michelle Wie, the 18-year-old American playing on a sponsor’s invitation, finished in a share of sixth place on seven-under-par and she will play with Scotland’s Kathryn Imrie at 12.03pm.
Kathryn is doing well with rounds of 71 and 66 for 137, only three shots off the pace.
But Lynn Kenny (145), Jenna Wilson (145) and Clare Queen (148) failed to beat the cut which chopped off those with 143 or higher.
SECOND ROUND LEADERBOARD
Par 144 (2 x 72)
134 L Fairclough (Eng) 66 68.
135 V Zorzi (Ita) 67 68.
136 M Prieto (Spa) 67 69, T Plucksataporn) (Thai) 69 67, P Marti (Spa) 68 68.
137 B Brewerton (Wal) 69 68, L Stahle (Swe) 68 69, N Reis 64 73, K Imrie (Sco) 71 66, M Wie (US) 68 69, A Yang 71 66, B Recari (Spa) 69 68.
MISSED THE CUT (143 or better qualified)
145 L Kenny (Sco) 71 74, J Wilson (Sco) 72 73.
146 L McKinnon (NZ) 72 74.
148 C Queen (Sco) 75 73.