Donaldson goes low in China

Donaldson: Flawless round of 61 in Chengdu

Welshman Jamie Donaldson fired a sensational 11-under-par 61 to take sole possession of the lead at the Volvo China Open.

Donaldson, who managed only a 70 on Thursday, closed with a hat-trick of birdies to overtake a group of seven players on 12-under late in the day at the Luxehills International Country Club.

Frenchman Gregory Havret, South African Keith Horne, Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl and Nicolas Colsaerts of Belgium were all on 12-under and were joined later in the day by Irishman Peter Lawrie, Jeev Milkha Singh of INdia and Ulsterman Gareth Maybin.

Havret, the 2010 US Open runner-up completed a second consecutive round of 66 and said: “I had a good round. I birdied 16, 17, 18 then one and three so five under for six holes was the key.

“I’ve not played badly this year – a couple of top 20s in the Middle East and a third in India, and I was a bit disappointed to miss the cut at the Masters. The game is pretty much there. I just need to get some iron shots going and I did that today.”

A further five players are just two off the pace including Sergio Garcia, who has yet to drop a shot this week after a bogey-free 67.

A total of 20 players lie within three shots of the lead ahead of ‘moving day’, although not every player found the going easy in Chengdu..

Irish duo Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley both missed the cut by a wide margin as they finished alongside at level par.