GOLF: The Irish contingent of Peter Lawrie, Paul McGinley, Graeme McDowell and Gary Murphy carried their excellent start into day two of the Spanish Open in Tenerife yesterday.
Lawrie set the standard for the day with a pulsating 64 which included 10 birdies and leaves him on 13 under par two shots behind the joint leaders Paul Casey and Miles Tunnicliff.
McGinley had a magical start to his round of 66 with an eagle on the par five third to leave him tied seventh, a shot behind Lawrie.
Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell is a shot behind McGinley after a round of 68 which included six birdies to keep him very much in contention.
The consistent Murphy, four under in the first round, went one better yesterday with a five under 67 to stay within distance of the leaders on nine under.
If Casey capitalises on his opening rounds of 64 and 65 to win tomorrow, it will be a victory made in America with more US glory in mind. Casey's four wins out of four were the cornerstones of Britain and Ireland's 1999 Walker Cup triumph, and he would love to stage an action replay at Oakland Hills, Detroit, in next year's Ryder Cup.
There is a small matter of making the team to contend with first but 25-year-old is confident he is up to it, and has been getting plenty of transatlantic match-play practice.
Lying 15 under par on 129 alongside his fellow Englishman Tunnicliff at Costa Adeje, he explained: "I stayed on for five weeks in the States after the World Golf Championship Matchplay, and I've been getting in as many games as possible. Being based in Scottsdale, Arizona, means I've had the chance to play against guys like Gary McCord, Tim Herron and Geoff Ogilvy, and it's sharpened up my game. I won more bets than I lost and took quite a few dollars off McCord."
The Arizona State University graduate, who added honours in the Eisenhower Trophy to his CV, then partnered Justin Rose to joint third place in last year's World Cup in Mexico, cannot wait for Ryder Cup qualifying to begin in September.
"I don't just want to make the team and then spend the week on the bench. I want to be someone who can be relied on to play every match and pick up maximum points."
Casey, eighth in the European money list with nearly £200,000, totted up eight birdies yesterday, holing a 30-foot chip and a 45-foot putt. He admitted: "I suffered a bit of mental reaction to last year's win but finished the year strongly, and the nice things Nick Faldo said about me when I took his England place in the World Cup were inspiring."
Jose Maria Olazabal birdied five of the first six holes but had to settle for a 67 and a 13-under-par total and Sergio Garcia can afford no slip-ups after a 67 for 136.
Mikko Ilonen of Finland equalled a European Tour record with four eagles. The former British amateur champion, who turned professional after the 2001 Masters, holed from 18 feet at the 522-yard 11th, chipped in from 20 feet on the 518-yard 13th, made a 25-footer on the 539-yard first and then a 22-footer at the 547-yard 8th. It matched the record set by Gordon Brand Jnr at the 1986 Jersey Open.
