TITLE-HOLDERS SCOTLAND SHARING SECOND PLACE AT HALFWAY

Defending champions Scotland are sharing second place at halfway in the PGAs of Europe international team golf championship at Palmares on Portugal's Algarve coastline.
Graham Fox (Clydeway Golf) is now joint second, having lost the overnight lead with a 76 for four-over-par 148, three shots behind the new leader, Magnus Atlevi (Swede) who had a one-under 71, the first sub par score of the tournament which opened on Tuesday in a gale-force wind, underlining how well Fox played for his first-day 72.
Greg McBain, soon to be attached to Kemnay Golf Club, improved by five shots in 24 hours with a 74 for 153.
The third member of the Scotland team, David Orr (Mearns Castle Golf Academy) had a triple bogey and two double bogey 7s in compiling a 79 for 157. 
Under the best two individual scores to count for the team daily, Orr's round was discarded.
Fox did well to salvage a 76 for a round which saw him bogey five holes in a row from the third before birdieing the long eighth and turning in 40. He came home in par 36 (two birdies, two bogeys).
McBain finished strongly with birdies at two par-5 holes, the 15th and 17th to match the inward par of 36. He birdied the short second and ninth on his way to an outward 38 which included four bogeys within the first seven holes.

LEADING TEAMS AT HALFWAY
298 Denmark
300 Scotland, Ireland, Sweden.
301 Netherlands
302 Wales, France
303 Italy
305 Spain, Portugal
306 Germany
307 England

LEADING INDIVIDUALS
Par 144 (2x72)
145 Magnus Atlevi (Swe) 74 71
148 Graham Fox (Sco) 72 76, Benhamin Nicolay (Fra) 75 73
149 Emannuele Canoninca (Ita) 75 74, Lee Rooke (Wal) 77 72, Jose Lara (Spa) 74 75, Hugo Santos (Por) 77 72
150 Jacob Nordestgaard (Den), Cian McNamara (Ire) 77 73, Brendan McGovern (Ire) 76 74, Robin Swane (Ned) 76 74

SELECTED OTHER SCORES
153 Greg McBain (Sco) 79 74, Nick Brennan (Eng) 78 75 (T15).
154 Dan Greenwood (Eng) 80 75 (T20)
155 John Kelly (Ire) 81 74 (T25).
157 David Orr (Sco) 78 79 (T32)
162 Stuart Runcie (Wal) 79 83, David Callaway (Eng) 85 77 (T50).

TITLE CONTENDERS FROM LENGTHY

QUEUE AT PALMARES

FROM THE PGAs OF EUROPE WEBSITE

The wind that continues to ravage The PGAs of Europe International Team Championship on Portugal’s Algarve is proving anything but an ill one in terms of making the tournament competitive. 

At the halfway stage of the event at the Onyria Palmares Beach and Golf Resort almost a third of the 26-strong field harbours realistic hopes of claiming €6,000 first prize. 

Five strokes span the leading eight teams after a second round during which, somewhat perversely, the wind was stronger than on the first day but individual scores improved.

As at the end of the opening circuit of the Alvor Course, Denmark occupy pole position but do so in isolation after Holland, their overnight cohabitants, faltered.

So much so that defending champions Scotland, Ireland and Sweden, who are all two strokes adrift of the Danes in second place, have climbed above them.

Greg McBain (74) was the Scots’ standard bearer, Cian McNamara (73) and Brendan McGovern (74) followed suit for Ireland, while Magnus Atevi (pictured above) proved Sweden’s ace with a one-under-par round of 71.

Atevi is just one of two players to defy to combination of a challenging course in excellent condition and the elements and post a sub-par round. The other is Germany’s Dennis Lohrmann (pictured below) who, curiously, was in the same three-ball as the Swede.

There, though, and aside from their final score, the similarities ended. The German enjoyed a high-octane outward half, posting four birdies and just one bogey. Two birdies followed on the way home but were spoiled by a double and two single bogeys.

By contrast, Atevi made less spectacular but equally effective progress with a brace of birdies in each half, successes compromised by a single bogey in the front nine and another two during the inward half.

Meanwhile, the Danes were indebted to Martin Hansen for maintaining their hold on first place in the event, which is supported by Glenmuir, the Associaçäo Turismo do Algarve and Ryder Cup European Development Trust.

Hansen posted a level par round of 72 as did Lee Rooke of Wales and Portugal’s Hugo Santos.

Rooke, winner of the Asbri-sponsored Welsh National PGA Championship in October, and Jon Bevan (74) were instrumental in Wales joining the French in sixth place, four shots off the pace.

However, Santos, twice winner of the UniCredit PGA Professional Championship of Europe, lacked a helping hand to light the blue touch paper and ignite Portugal’s challenge.