Round two of the Open de Portugal had a false start on Friday as an Atlantic sea-fog engulfed Royal Óbidos leading to a four-hour delay to the action. This served as another headache for the tournament schedulers with 15 players still to tidy up their first round from Thursday.
After eight hours of play, the action was eventually suspended for poor light with many of the field less than halfway through their second walk around. Only two of the Irish managed to get a round on the cards, while Lumsden and Herbert hold the overnight lead heading into a potentially long day on Saturday.
Mullarney and Murphy were out first of the Irish after the protracted delay and starting at the 10th both would fall foul of the tricky conditions of the second round. Mullarney tidied up a pair of opening bogeys with a quick response, birdieing the 12th and the par-three 13th. He showed some of yesterday’s consistency to par his way to the turn for even-par.
The back nine was where the trouble came for the Leopardstown man. Three birdies in five to start his homeward leg were undone by a double on the par-four second and a bogey on the fourth. Level par through 15 was a decent return in tough conditions but another double came on the par-five seventh and he would finish up two-over for the day and outside the projected cut line that will be finalised on Saturday.
Murphy’s struggles from Thursday showed no sign of abating with three bogeys and just the one birdie on his front nine. Three more in a row from the first would start his walk back but he restored some confidence with two birdies coming home on the fifth and the par-three seventh. A three over for the Kinsale man for his day in tricky conditions.
Conor O’ Rourke is four-over through 10 holes while Dermot McElroy and Cormac Sharvin both sit on two-over after six holes of their respective rounds as play was suspended in the gloom of the Portuguese evening. With the best opportunity on Saturday, through five holes on one-over par is Jonathan Caldwell. The Bangor man was four pars and a bogey deep into his round when the field was called ashore. With a more benign course in the morning, he could have the chance to make moves inside the cut line at least.
One man who did manage to get a round on the board was Thursday’s overnight leader, Ryan Lumsden. The Scot was out of the traps quickly, recovering from an early bogey on the second with a run of three birdies in-a-row from the third. He would gain one more on the ninth to turn on three-under. His back nine was a different affair as the wind picked up on the Portuguese coast. He held his nerve to negotiate his back nine with only a single blemish on the par four 16th to add to his eight pars for his walk home.
Asked to assess his day Lumsden reflected, “It was solid, you know I did get off to a nice start, which I was pleased with.” The Scot, who finished fourth at the Irish Challenge went on to add, “I managed to keep than aggressive mindset. I think it can be a little funny sometimes, we had a sort of a four-hour delay today. So I was up super early, kind of ready for the day, and trying to keep fresh through that was part of it. I was pleased with how I got started. Just sort of, as the wind picked up on the back nine, I didn’t really make the most of it. I hit some good drives but couldn’t get the ball close enough really. So, a little frustrated with how I played the back nine because I think there was a chance to kind of push on a little bit.”
Lumsden was joined in the lead by Benjamin Herbert who is currently bogey free and four-under through eight holes at the suspension of play. If the conditions in the morning are favourable, Herbert has the perfect opportunity to give himself daylight at the top with 11 to play in his second round. Matt Oshrine and Pierre Pineau share third spot one back from the leading pair, with Boote and Schmidt making up the top five on minus six. All have completed their second rounds. Round two will recommence at 8.15am on Saturday, with round three kicking off at 12.45 at the earliest, with Lumsden in the opening group.
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