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Morrison leads by two after storm halts second round of Singapore Open

By PA Sport and Associated Press
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Morrison leads by two after storm halts second round of Singapore Open

James Morrison of England shot a 3-under 68 Friday to take the clubhouse lead by two shots during the suspended second round of the Barclays Singapore Open. The $6 million event is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Asian Tour.

Play was delayed for nearly three hours because of the threat of lightning from a rainstorm, and eventually the round was suspended because of darkness with 69 players still to finish. The oversized field is paying one round each on the Serapong Course and the Tanjong Course, with the weekend rounds to be staged on the Serapong Course.

Morrison, who has one career win on the European Tour, finished with four birdies on the back nine and had a two-round total of 12-under 130 at Sentosa Golf Club.

“I didn’t play as well today as I did yesterday, but I managed to get it round and I am pretty happy with that,” he said.

Juvic Pagunsan (66) of the Philippines was next at 132. Italy’s Edoardo Molinari was at 11 under through 10 holes, and Spain’s Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano was also at 10 under after 9.

Graeme McDowell, who was 3 under after a par 71, said his stomach flu hurt his play.

“I felt very lethargic this morning and played the front nine like a blind man,” McDowell said. “I still had stomach cramps on the back nine and am still not great.”

Phil Mickelson, elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame this week, was 2 under after 12 holes.

Morrison collected five birdies and two bogeys over the more difficult Serapong Course. The 26-year-old Englishman began his second round level with Molinari on 9 under at the top of the leaderboard but immediately dropped a stroke at the first.

A birdie at the seventh erased the damage, but another bogey at the ninth saw Morrison drop to 1 over on the day. However, Morrison fought back on the homeward nine, picking up birdies at the 11th, 13th and 14th before the weather intervened.

On the resumption of play, he was able to par the next three holes before an excellent approach to two feet on the par-5 last brought another birdie and saw him move to 12 under par at the halfway mark.

"This golf course is definitely harder and it can be tough coming from an easier course onto a tougher layout," he said.

"There are some very demanding tee shots out there and it is just a proper golf course, quite demanding in many ways," he explained. "I didn't play as well today as I did yesterday but I managed to get it round and I am pretty happy with that, especially with a 4 under back nine to finish strongly."

Molinari, meanwhile, had birdies at the fifth, seventh and 10th, but a bogey at the par-3 eighth when he missed the green saw him end the day 11 under.

Fernandez-Castano was tied for third on 10 under par after the Spaniard blitzed the front nine of the easier Tanjong Course with an eagle and four birdies before a bogey at the eighth set him back. He will return on Saturday morning to complete his second nine.

Pagunsan returned an impressive 66 on the Serapong Course that featured six birdies and a bogey.

Michael Hoey backed up Thursday's 67 with a 66 to climb to 9 under par. Four birdies and a double-bogey 6 at the seventh saw the Northern Irishman go out in 34, but he picked up three more shots coming back before a fine par save on the last after finding the trees on the right from the tee completed a satisfying day's work.

"I didn't hit the ball great in the long game department today but the short game has been really good," he said. "But I will definitely need to straighten things up off the tee, especially on the Serapong Course because it is very tough. I shot 4 under there yesterday but hit it in the water twice and didn't hit enough fairways."

Hoey joined Anders Hansen, who sank seven birdies in a 64, and Y.E. Yang in a tie for fifth although the South Korean still has six holes to play.

Justin Rose also lifted himself into contention on 8 under following a round of 65. Following an underwhelming start with a bogey at the first, Rose quickly found his rhythm as a birdie at the third was followed by four in a row from the sixth -- a solid birdie putt on the ninth reflecting the Englishman's confidence.

A birdie putt at the 11th just grazed the edge of the hole and he failed to capitalize on an opportunity at the 13th, but collected his sixth birdie of the day on the next thanks to another fine approach. Another at the last capped an excellent effort.

"Yeah, good day," Rose said. "Started with a bogey, I hadn't played the front nine in practice but my caddie walked it and did a good job of mapping it out. It was a lot tighter than I gave it credit for.

"If you drive the ball well then you can play this golf course, but if you don't you are going to struggle to make birdies," he explained. "I bogeyed the first and then 7 under from there I was very happy with.

"Two rounds on that other golf course will suit me the way I am playing right now," he added. "I feel I am beginning to hit some good putts. I am beginning to scare the hole quite often so it's feeling good."