It might not have been as spectacular as his opening 64 but Padraig Harrington’s steady second round 70 at a sunkissed Quinta do Lago was good enough to maintain his lead at the halfway stage of the Algarve Open de Portugal.
The 29 year old Irishman’s started the day two shots clear of the field and by the end of play had retained that advantage, the closest challengers to his ten under par aggregate of 134 being Scotland’s Alastair Forsyth and David Gilford of England who both finished on eight under par 136.
“It’s pleasing to be in contention no matter where you are playing and I’m looking forward to the weekend,” said Harrington, who enjoyed the vocal backing of a large contingent of Irish holidaymakers and ex-pats in the gallery.
Beginning at the tenth hole in the morning, the Dubliner did not give his fan club the best of starts, with a three putt bogey on the short 11th. But he soon got his challenge for the 166,660 euro first prize back on track with birdies at the 12th and 14th to see him to the ‘turn’ in 35.
Turning for home on the front nine, Harrington had chances to increase his lead but took only one, that coming at the 383 yard sixth hole where his pitch found the centre of the green ten feet from the pin, moments before his ball found the bottom of the cup.
The Ryder Cup player reverted to his old seven-degree loft driver for his second round, after experimenting with an eight and a half degree one in the first round, and admitted he felt more comfortable in the grip of an old friend.
“I was a lot happier with it on certain shots anyway,” he said. “The driver I used yesterday was a bit better in a left to right wind but the driver I used today is better right into the wind and in right to left wind – plus I also hit it a little further as well.
“I’m not too happy we got two rounds in wind and I would say it was about similar strength to what we had yesterday afternoon. It certainly wasn’t any easier but it was in slightly a different direction so it made a couple of the par fives in range but then again some of the other holes longer.”
While Harrington continued to prosper, the same could not be said for his playing partner Colin Montgomerie. The seven time Volvo Order of Merit winner could only add a 72 to his opening 73 and his one over par total of 145 saw him miss the cut.
It was the first cut the 37 year old Scot had missed since last year’s BMW International Open and, having missed the weekend too in his last tournament – the Masters at Augusta – represented the first time he had missed back-to-back cuts since 1998 (the Smurfit European Open and the BMW International Open).
“Obviously I’m disappointed,” he said. “I had chances coming in but my putting let me down. It is just one of those things but my game is not so good just now. I’ll have to go and work on it and see if I can get out of it. I shouldn’t be missing cuts.”
Leader Harrington however urged Montgomerie to put what had happened into perspective. “At the end of the day, he’s won seven Order of Merits and over £20 million in prizemoney – I don’t think he has anything to worry about,” said the Irishman.
“You’ve got to be realistic about these things. It’s one cut. It’s early on in the season and he hasn’t played that much. He’s done almost everything you can in the game so there’s a lot for him to be happy and proud about. We all miss cuts, and plenty of them.”
At the other end of the scoreboard, Montgomerie’s fellow Scot Alastair Forsyth was in a different frame of mind, having rediscovered the form of last season which almost saw him named Rookie of the Year before being pipped for the honour by Ian Poulter.
The 25 year old from Paisley, who has missed four cuts in nine events and only finished in the top 30 once, admitted a slight irritation at having dropped his only shot of the day at the last, but was given consolation with five birdies elsewhere, which made up his second consecutive 68.
“There were a few things I was working on in my game over the winter, “ he said. “I didn’t want to mess about too much last winter with it being my first year on Tour but there was a couple of things I needed to do.
“It has taken a little time to get used to taking that on to the golf course. It looks good on the range and in practice but I think I am starting to get my consistency back and see the rewards now in tournaments.”
Joining Forsyth on eight under par 136 was David Gilford, whose mere figure of 70 did little justice to a rollercoaster 18 holes. The round featured five bogeys, three birdies and two eagles, incredibly, both of those coming after he holed full wedge third shots on par fives, at the fifth and the 17th
“It was unbelievable – I’ve never done that twice before in one round,” he said. “Both shots were pretty identical, about 100 yards to the pin and both dropped into the hole, I couldn’t believe it! Apart from that, I’m pretty pleased with the way I played overall – I’ve hit the ball well and I’ve made some good putts.”
One shot behind Forsyth and Gilford at the halfway stage were the 1999 Dubai Desert Classic Champion David Howell and the 1997 Volvo German Open winner Ignacio Garrido, Howell carding a second round 70 while Garrido carded five birdies in total in his 68.
