Paul O'Hara goes five clear at halfway in 

Scottish YP Championship

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Defending champion Paul O'Hara (North Lanarkshire Leisure) has opened up a five-stroke lead at halfway in the Scottish young professionals' championship at West Lothian Golf Club, Bo'ness.

O'Hara, pictured, has scored 67-65 for 10-under-par 132. In his bogey-free, six-under-par second round, he had an eagle 2 at the par-4 16th and birdies at the long fifth, 10th, short 15th and 18th in halves of 35-30. 
Marc Owenson (Gullane), who shared the overnight lead with O'Hara on 67, droped back to a share of second place after a 70 for 137, the same mark as Alastair Forsyth (Mearns Castle).
Forsyth shot a 66 which had birdiess at the first, third, long fourth, 10th, long 14th and 17th in halves of 34-32. He bogeyed the eighth.
Owenson started with a birdie before dropping shots at the second and fifth. A birdie at the seventh helped him to turn in 36. On the way home in 34, he had eight pars and a 2 at the short 15th.  
Thirty-four players with 36-hole totals of 148 and better qualified for the final two rounds on Wednesday.

SECOND-ROUND SCORES
Par 142 (2x71)
132 P O'Hara (North Lanarkshire Leisure) 67 65
137 A Forsyth (Mearns Castle) 71 66, M Owenson (Gullane) 67 70
139 D Flannery (Caldwell) 73 66
140 G Hay (Grantown on Spey) 68 72, R Clarke (Golf Dedication Centre) 72 69, S Binning (Mearns Castle) 72 68, G Forbes (Mar Hall) 71 69.
141 S Maxwell (Eastwood) 71 70, C Farrell (Cardross) 70 71
143 A Burns (Bothwell Castle) 73 70, R Munro (Duddingston) 73 70
145 K Moran (Balbirnie Park) 72 73, C Billows (Gleneagles) 76 69, C Marr (Musselburgh) 75 70, G McDougall (Elie Links) 73 72, P Mitchell (Stirling) 71 74
146 C Porciani (Trump Turnberry) 76 70, S Speirs (Swanston New) 74 72, E Bowden (North Berwick) 74 72, M Kanev (Bruntsfield Links) 73 73, C Robinson (Elderslie) 74 72, J Gallagher (Westerwood) 73 73, S Craigon (Balbirnie Park) 73 73, E MacDonald (Musselburgh) 73 73, J Bell (Lanark) 73 73
147 J Brown (Dumfries and Co) 73 74, K McNiven (Gleneagles) 75 72, I Anderson (Colville Park) 72 75, J Ferrie (Hilton Park) 78 69, T Ogilvie (Duke's) 75 72.
148 C Adam (unatt) 73 75, R Tinker (Piperdam) 73 75, D Ramsay (Moray) 74 74
MISSED THE CUT
149 J Allan (Peebles) 79 70, D Stein (Ranfurly Castle) 74 75, S Gillies (unatt) 77 72, R Black (Inverness) 74 75, C Armstrong (Burntisland) 76 73
150 C Goodwin (Duff House Royal) 77 73, A Hutchison (Douglas Park) 72 78, R McKen (Trump International) 79 81, S O'Hara (North Lanarkshire Leisure) 75 75, C Fountain (unatt) 76 74, R Miller (Kings Acre) 76 74
151 K Zeynalov (Portlethen) 76 75
152 O Robertson (Panmure) 78 74, D Lee (unatt) 77 75, S Fisher (Portpatrick Dunskey) 75 77, J Treasurer (Loch Ness) 81 71
153 J Dick (Duddingston) 75 78, S Watters (Balbirnie Park) 76 77, F Robertson (Lundin) 81 72, Linzi Allan (West Kilbride) 78 75, S Milne (Balbirnie Park) 78 75
154 Ailsa Murphy (Gullane) 79 75
155 A Pillans (unatt) 80 75
156 A Todd (Downfield) 82 74, G Foley (Royal Troon) 77 79.
158 D Thorburn (Braid Hills) 77 81, Jennifer Potter (Cawder) 82 76
159 C Beveridge (Gailes) 87 72
160 S Wilson (Carrick on Loch Lomond) 80 80
161 C McQueen (Dalmuir) 80 81
162 M Bradfield (Elie Links) 80 82, Nichola Ferguson (American Golf) 84 78
165 M Penny (Montrose Links) 85 80, S SMith (Loretto School) 81 84
173 M Thomson (Panmure) 82 91
176 R Mitchell (Paul Lawrie Golf Centre) 89 87