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Tournament Navigation 
| Spain shines to lead OMEGA Mission Hills World Cuptext size    Franklin/Getty Images Miguel Angel Jimenez and Pablo Larrazabal threatened the course record of 11-under 61 when they reached 9-under oar throught 11 holes. 
Nov. 28, 2008 SHENZHEN, China -- Spain opened up a four-stroke lead at the halfway stage of the OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup in China after a breathtaking foursomes display sent them clear of the field. Miguel Angel Jiménez and Pablo Larrazabal combined brilliantly in the alternate-shot format for the second round, playing the first 11 holes in a staggering 9-under par, thanks to seven birdies and an eagle. Their only mistake came at the 15th, when they dropped a shot, but they birdied the next for a 63 and a 17-under total of 127.  Franklin/Getty Images The Swedish team is in fourth place, five shots behind the leaders.
That lifted them four clear of first-round leaders Germany -- after Martin Kaymer and Alex Cejka posted a 69 -- and Australia, whose team of Richard Green and Brendan Jones, shot a 68 to also lie at 17 under. Pre-tournament favorites Sweden finished a shot further back at 12 under with the United States and Ireland at 11 under by the halfway stage. The host nation of China, however, never got going and carded a 75 to lie well down the field and is facing an uphill task to improve on its 2007 performance. Spain's round was simply inspired, and with seven holes to play the record low of 61, by Argentina in 2005, looked in danger. Jiménez said: "We complemented very well today on the golf course, and we had started with par on the first hole, then birdie, eagle, birdie, birdie. After five holes, we were well under par. We really enjoyed the moment and kept playing very well, and made more birdies on the next par fives, on the seventh, ninth and 11th, and, well, that is the way. "I thought at one moment that maybe we can break 60, the way we started. But when those kind of thoughts come at the wrong moment, we stopped the machine." Larrazabal clearly enjoyed the experience of playing in his first OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup alongside Jiménez. "Two more days to go; we need to work to keep the machine two more days. That's a great round for foursomes. Tomorrow will be another day." Spain is looking for its fifth World Cup title to move into second place in the list of all-time winners, and is in prime position with both players enjoying the camaraderie. Jiménez is playing for the 12th time and looking for his first win after seven top 10s, while Larrazabal -- the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year -- has carried his form from last week where he finished a shot outside the playoff in fourth place. Australia's team was hanging on to the tails of Spain with four birdies over the front nine. While they dropped a shot on the 12th, they hit back with two birdies and looked on course to lie second on their own until they bogeyed the tough finishing hole of the Olazábal Course for a round of 68 and 13-under total of 131. "Foursomes is not the easiest game to play," Richard Green said. "Both Brendan and I put a pretty good score on the board, considering it's a difficult game. I think if you can do that, in this format, you're a pretty strong team. So I like our prospects for the weekend and hopefully continue our form from the fourball and regroup for the foursomes again on Sunday." Brendan Jones was equally pleased with their performance. "It is a very tough format. It's hard to keep your momentum in this game." As for the prospect of chasing down the leaders over the weekend, Green said "The last time I played the World Cup in 1998, I can remember there was a lot of fluctuation with this format. We might be four behind Spain, but with this format, anything can happen, and it's not that far away. I'm looking forward to tomorrow and getting back into a rhythm again. I think we'll do well." Germany did very little wrong as Kaymer and Cejka gelled together in the foursomes for a 69 to match Australia's 36 hole total of 13 under and remain well in the hunt for a second title in three years following previous success in Barbados when Bernhard Langer and Martin Siem won the title. "It was a real work day," Kaymer said. "We struggled on the first nine, but on the back nine, we made a few birdies, which put us I think in a good position for the weekend. We are tied second now, but Spain obviously had a huge day." Cejka added: "We were just trying to survive and not to lose too much ground. We had a couple bogeys that really hurts. But we were fighting to the end. We made a couple good birdies coming in, and I think we can be pleased with a couple under today." Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson came in with a 67 to maintain their challenge as the pre-tournament favorites at 12-under 132 and five off the lead, while the Americans forced their way back into contention with four birdies to finish at 11 under alongside Ireland. The OMEGA Mission Hills World Cup reverts back to fourballs for the third round before concluding with foursomes on the final day.
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