STILL, sultry conditions and receptive greens became an irresistible combination as competitors ripped into the Hanbury Manor course with some relish in the second round of the £650,000 Alamo English Open yesterday. And Darren Clarke, with a sparkling 64, was among those who prospered.
Roger Chapman, the overnight leader, saw his course record 66 lowered by three strokes. But a halfway total of 132 12 under par kept him in command, one stroke ahead of Sweden's Dennis Edlund, while Clarke was three strokes further back in a share of fifth place.
Overall, Irish competitors had a decidedly mixed day. While Raymond Burns (67 for 140) and David Higgins (70 for 141) joined Clarke for the weekend the remaining seven missed out. Failure was especially narrow for Ronan Rafferty whose one under par 143 was still one shot too many.
"I thought one under would be enough," said Higgins, who missed the cut at The Oxfordshire last week. With that in mind, he took particular care about the long ninth, his last hole, which he faced on two under. As it happened, a laid up three iron second shot was followed by a sandwedge to four feet and he actually finished with a birdie.
Argentina's Jose Coceres set the tone for the day's exploits with an early 64 that included a back nine of 31. Then Clarke matched him, only to be followed by the American, Jay Townsend, who also shot 31 for the homeward journey. But in his case, it delivered a course record 63.
In terms of back nine brilliance, however, Lee Westwood was in a class apart. After carding birdie, bogey, par for the 10th, 11th and 12th, he proceeded to reel off a stunning sequence of six threes - birdie, birdie, birdie, par, eagle, birdie for a homeward 30. Even more remarkable was the fact that his longest successful putt over that stretch was from 15 feet.
On a scale of one to 10, Clarke considered the quality of his play worthy of a moderate seven. Clearly, he sets himself formidable standards, for he has rarely struck the ball with such authority.
Impressive maturity was evident in the quieter rhythm of his swing, allowing him to turn through the ball with delightful control. Equally impressive, however, was his mastery of the delicate lob shot, which was simply not in his bag a few years ago.
Having started on the 10th, it delivered his opening birdie at the long, 540 yard 12th, where a pushed driver second shot left him with a treacherous, 10 yard pitch over a bunker. With only eight feet of green to work with, Clarke executed the shot perfectly with his lob wedge, leaving it only two feet from the target.
From then on, he peppered the flags, carding six further birdies through putts of no more than eight feet. His longest effort with the blade came at the eighth, his 17th, where a slightly pushed five iron approach was followed by a 30 foot putt.
"I drove the ball particularly well," he said afterwards. "The fact that I missed only one fairway meant I was usually in a position to attack the flag. I'm anxious to win again to nail down my Ryder Cup place, and I like my chances from here."
As it happened, Clarke was actually outscored over the opening two rounds by Steve Webster, a 22 year old English rookie who gained the distinction of beating Tiger Woods for the amateur medal in the British Open at St Andrews in 1995. And indicative of the standard on tour is that while the Ulsterman is looking towards Ryder Cup selection, Webster is simply trying to amass the £51,000 he believes will secure his card for next season.
Burns has come to the elementary conclusion that scoring is rendered very much easier if the putter is in good working order.
Having discarded the broomhandle for a return to the conventional method during the Italian Open, he has had 30 and 29 putts for his rounds here an improvement of more than three per round.
Tidier play from tee to green was also evident in the absence of a bogey on his card. Like Clarke, his birdies - five of them - were generally the product of brilliant iron play, though a 20 footer found the target at the short 16th.
Naturally he was pleased, having missed four of his last five cuts. "I've always felt that the long putter was no more than a quick fix," he said. "My hope now is that I can continue to improve on my putting form over the last few weeks."
Chapman was surprised to discover afterwards that he had carded only five pars in a second successive 66. Effectively, the key to his retention of the lead lay in his sparkling play of four holes from the eighth, where he carded birdie, birdie, eagle, birdie.
"Conditions were perfect for scoring and the four bogeys all came from missing fairways," he said afterwards. In fact he went to 13 under par for the tournament after birdies at the 16th and 17th, but the last of his bogeys came at the 18th where he wedged over the green.
The eagle two at the 412 yard 10th was the product of a two iron off the tee, followed by a five iron of 183 yards, straight into the hole. "Two more 66s would be nice," added Chapman. "I'm over Becher's Brook; now I have to get over Valentine's and then it's The Chair."
. Alison Nicholas will be defending the Guardian Irish Women's Open which has been changed to Luttrellstown Castle on June 26th to 29th. Through an unfortunate clash, it happens to be running against the European Men's Amateur Team Championship at Portmarnock.
Laura Davies, who was largely responsible for popularising an event which she won twice, will not be returning this year due to commitments elsewhere.
