Golf: Alfredsson's onslaught edges aside Davies

DESPITE a 10th consecutive sub-par round of 72 in the second round of the IBM Open here, Britain's Laura Davies was yesterday relegated to third place after sharing the overnight lead.

Davies was left behind by Helen Alfredsson, whose 70 gave her an eight-under-par half-way aggregate of 138. Alfredsson leads from the amateur Annika Sorenstam, another Swede, with Davies one stroke further behind.

It was not a vintage round by Davies, who had started promisingly with birdies at her first two holes. She then paid the penalty for attempting to bite off too much at the long fifth, where she pushed her three-wood second shot into the trees for a double-bogey seven.

Another shot went at the ninth but Davies clawed her way back with three birdies in five holes from the 13th, only to drop another shot at the long 18th. There, Davies cut her three-iron second shot into the water, found a divot in the dropping zone, and had to work hard for her six.

Alfredsson had no such anxieties, save the three putts she expended in dropping her only shot at the third hole. Showing the kind of form which has earned her dollars 180,000 ( pounds 90,000) on the LPGA Tour in America this year, Alfredsson reached the turn in 36.

The former British Open champion then chipped dead for a birdie at the long 13th and holed from 18 and eight feet for birdies at the 16th and 18th to inch clear of the field on the Haninge course.

Sorenstam also dropped her only shot of the day by way of three putts and, like Alfredsson, she came home in 34, three under in the strengthening wind, to move into second place.

IBM WOMEN'S OPEN (Stockholm) Leaders after second round (GB or Irl unless stated): 138 H Alfredsson (Swe) 68 70. 139 A Sorenstam (Swe) 69 70. 140 L Davies 68 72. 141 H Wadsworth 71 70. 142 M-L de Lorenzi (Fr) 72 70; L Fairclough 70 72. 143 C Hjalmarsson (Swe) 71 72; C Soules (Fr) 71 72; L Neumann (Swe) 73 70; S Robinson 74 69. 144 J Arnold (NZ) 72 72; J Hill (Zim) 74 70; S Waugh (Aus) 73 71; M Lunn (Aus) 73 71; J Shearwood (Aus) 72 72; C Nilsmark (Swe) 72 72; C Dibnah (Swe) 71 73. 145 D Barnard 72 73; F Dassu (It) 73 72; T Johnson 73 72; D Reid 72 73.