Paul McGinley of Ireland takes a two stroke lead into the third round of the wind-affected Volvo Masters Andalucia at Montecastillo Hotel and Golf Resort after returning to the course to complete the last six holes of his second round.
McGinley, winner of The Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open, negotiated those half dozen holes in level par for a round of 69 and a 36-hole total of 135, nine under par.
He leads by two from Sweden's Mathias Grönberg, who shot a 67 on Friday for a total of 137 shortly before play was suspended due to unseasonal high winds.
McGinley said: "It wasn't nice getting up at 7.30 this morning, freezing cold and hearing the wind whistling outside, but I was pleased enough to cover the last six in level par.
"The greens are unbelievably quick now - the quickest we've putted on all year. The wind has dried them out, and they were fast to begin with.
"Irish people don't mind this weather. By irish standards it's not bad! I've played a lot of winter golf in Ireland and back home everybody would be saying what a great day for golf!"
The winds, which gusted to 70 kph on Friday afternoon, had not abated in the morning and the start to the thhird round was temporarily suspended.
Grönberg's excellent round, which contained two eagles in a front nine of 31, shared the distinction of being the best of the day along with a player from the same country, Niclas Fasth, who finished second in the Open Championship in July. Fasth moved u[ through the field, finishing on 139.
Darren Clarke, the champion in 1998 at Montecastillo and the joint course record holder, was one who took advantage of conditions which are to his liking. A confirmed wind player, the Irishman added a 68 to his opening 70 for a six under par total of 138.
He said: “I woke up this morning and saw the wind blowing, which was good. I’ve played a couple of rounds on this course in the wind and played well. I enjoy playing in conditions like these and I certainly hit a lot of drivers off the back of my stance to keep the ball under the wind. You’ve got to use a lot of imagination in conditions like this.”
Grönberg is one player who knows all about Clarke’s abilities in windy conditions. Three years ago, the pair played together on the last day when the Irishman shot his Sunday best 63 to win the Volvo Masters Andalucia title.
However he hopes to be finishing ahead of Clarke on this occasion. He said: “It would be good to win and get into the top 15 in the Volvo Order of Merit and the Major Championships next year.”
