At the half-way point of the Estoril Open, England’s Paul Broadhurst and Portugal’s own Jose-Filipe Lima share the lead. Both players are at -8 and one shot ahead of Barry Lane and Simon Dyson, both of England. Dyson set a new course record shooting a second round 64.
On Thursday, the players met heavy winds as Markus Brier of Austria shot 65 to take a two-shot lead over Titch Moor, Stephen Schahill and Mads Vibe-Hastrup. Brier executed some brilliant shots in his opening round, hitting his long and mid irons close. Brier hit a six iron to five feet on the sixth to begin a string of three consecutive birdies.
Other notables after the opening round include England’s Paul Broadhurst and Barry Lane (-3), Stephen Dodd of Wales (-3), Paul Lawrie of Scotland (-2) and British Open goat Jean Van de Velde (-1). Van de Velde is looking to make is fourth comeback after his collapse at the 1999 British Open and various injuries (two reconstructive knee surgeries) plaguing his career.
Friday’s round provide lower scores than Thursday, highlighted by Simon Dyson who shot a course record 64 to trail Broadhurst and Portugal’s Lima. Lima, who is 24, changed nationalities from French to Portugal at the end of last season to follow the nationality of his Portuguese parents. Last season, Lima won a French tournament as a Frenchman, and this year he looks to win a Portuguese tournament as a national citizen of Portugal.
Broadhurst is in a position he didn’t think he’d be in, as of Wednesday. After the Pro-Am, he contacted his sports psychologist and admitted that he had no idea how he would perform this week. His “mind coach” has earned his pay so far and Broadhurst has shot rounds of 68-66 to share the lead.
Many players are having a difficuult time with the 18th at Oitavos Golfe. The hole has a stroke average of over 4.7 in the first two days. Lima and Dyson both dropped shots on the final hole during their second rounds.
The cutline fell to +2 to have 75 player left in the field for Saturday and Sunday. There are 13 players within 3 shots of the lead, so the final two rounds are looking to provide some great competition.
Pos Player R1 R2 1 Paul Broadhurst 68 66 T3 Jose-Filipe Lima 69 65 T3 Simon Dyson 71 64 T3 Barry Lane 68 67 T5 Cesar Monasterio 69 67 T5 Stuart Little 69 67 T5 Ian Garbutt 70 66 T5 Paul Lawrie 69 67 T9 Stephen Dodd 68 69 T9 Ignacio Garrido 71 66 T9 Stephen Scahill 67 70 T9 Mads Vibe-Hastrup 67 70 T9 Gary Murphy 69 68 T9 Charl Schwartzel 72 65
Television coverage for Saturday and Sunday will be on the Golf Channel.
Saturday 4/2 8:00am - 11:00am ET TGC Sunday 4/3 9:00am - Noon ET TGC
Photo Credit: © BBC Sport