Surprise-package Noboru Sugai is rewriting the script in the Senior British Open at Royal County Down.

Five-time Open champion Tom Watson was expected to hog the limelight but mystery man Sugai looks set to take the starring role after grabbing a four-shot lead at halfway.

The 52 year old, a virtual unknown outside Japan, birdied the last two holes for a second successive 67 and an eight under par total of 134.

But superstar Watson is just five shots behind after an immaculate two under par 69, the only bogey-free round of the championship so far.

Scot John Chillas and John Irwin are tied for second on four under after rounds of 69 and 68 respectively but Sugai isn't getting overconfident just yet.

He said: "I think I need a 20-shot lead and I will be looking over my shoulder. There are a lot of very good players behind me.

"This is my third time here and I like the course and the wind but you need to hit the ball in position here and find the middle of the green."

Sugai certainly did that to perfection yesterday on a mild day for links golf with only a moderate breeze to test the players.

But with 36 holes to play, Watson feels that he can still win the title.

He said: "Five shots is not an insurmountable lead with one round to go, let alone two. As the cliché goes, there is still a lot of golf left to be played.

"I'm still trying to figure out the course. The greens are small and I was hole high a lot of times with my irons but just right or left each time.

"I had the right weight on my iron shots but didn't make any of those 15 or 20 footers when sometimes you can on a roll with those ones."

Watson got off to the perfect start and two putted for an opening

Sugai started the day on four under par, one clear of the field and three clear of Watson but soon got on a roll with birdies at both par threes on the front nine.

Four under starting the day he hit a four iron to 18 feet the fourth and then holed from three feet at the seventh to get to six under par.

He reached the turn in 33, two under the card and never really looked like making a mistake all day.

He continued to play flawless golf after the turn and birdied holed a 100-foot putt at the par five 12th to get to seven under and go five clear of the field.

"That was a very big putt," he said. "I hit my second into a bush, chipped out and then holed from 30 metres."

He followed that with an 18 footer at the 13th to go SIX clear of the field on eight under par.

It looked as if he was about to run away from the field altogether before there was a three shot swing at the 15th in the space of 20 minutes.

Sugai made a double bogey at the 450-yard hole before Watson kick-started his round with a birdie three at the same hole to close the gap to three shots.

Sugai recovered with a birdie three at short par four 16th to go three clear as Scot John Chillas birdied the 16th and 17th to get to four under.

But he Japanese star was not to be denied a moment of glory at he last where he hit a nine iron to six feet and holed the putt for a four shot cushion.

Three times a runner up in the past five editions of the event, South Africa's John Bland shot a 70 to get to one under par.

But defending champion Ian Stanley undid a four under par front nine with four dropped shots on the way home for a 71 that leaves him 12 behind.

England's Nick Job produced one of the rounds of the day, a four under par 67 that included five birdies and just one error a the short 14th to get back to one over par.

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© Brian Keogh 2002

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