Welshman David Park hoisted himself into the clubhouse lead at the lightning delayed Turespaña Mallorca Classic with a second round, six under par 64 at Pula Golf Club for a six under total of 134 before play was suspended for the day at 16:40 local time.
That meant none of the afternoon matches – that included second placed Maarten Lafeber and Damien McGrane on five under par – could complete their second rounds as a thunderous rainstorm engulfed the 6568 yard par 72 venue.
Park started his round brilliantly – picking up three birdies in his first three holes and then another at the par five sixth to go to the turn in 31, before coming back with a further three birdies and one bogey for 64.
There are a further eight players two shots off the pace on four under par.
Englishman Benn Barham (68) and Henrik Stenson (68) from Sweden are sitting alongside Park in the clubhouse with four under totals of 136, while Paul Broadhurst, José Manuel Carriles, Ricardo Gonzalez, James Hepworth, José Maria Olazábal and Marcel Siem are all hoping to improve upon their scores of four under when they complete their second rounds on Saturday morning.
Barham had four birdies and two bogeys en route to his 68, but the best shot of his round came at the 313 yard, par four 11th. After putting his second shot on the edge of the greenside water hazard, he removed his right shoe and sock to take an awkward stance over his third shot. He managed to play his chip beautifully, leaving the ball a foot from the cup allowing himself a simple putt to save par.
The 27 year old Englishman, who finished 13th on the European Challenge Tour Rankings last season to gain his card, is currently 155th on the Volvo Order of Merit. Barham feels he has to win this weekend to keep his Tour card, and feels capable of doing just that as he believes he performs to a higher standard when the pressure is on.
He said: “I played well after a pretty bad start – I bogeyed the second and third but then got a good run going. I was just a bit disappointed with my start because I think you should really be picking up as many shots as you can on the front nine.
“I’m 155th on the Order of Merit at the moment and it doesn’t look like I’ll be playing in Madrid next week so unless I can win here then I probably won’t keep my card. I can win here this week though – I’m in a good position and I tend to do things the hard way.
“I played on the Challenge Tour last year and left it up until the very last event of the season (Challenge Tour Grand Final) before I got into the top 15 and gained my card.
“So, in a way, I like to play with that little bit more pressure on myself, yet at the same time, I’d rather not be in this position at all and comfortably have my card.”
Olazábal, meanwhile, who was playing alongside Lafeber and Lee Westwood, had picked birdies at the fifth and eighth holes to go to the turn in 33 before a double bogey at the par three 13th put him back to where he started the round on four under par.
Lafeber – the winner of the Dutch Open last weekend – is currently three under for his second round, with Westwood level par and sitting on two over par following his opening 72.
Olazabal said: “I was playing alright and had picked up a couple of shots before I hit a terrible seven iron at the 13th into the left hand bunker and a horrible lie. I got out of the sand in two and then two putted from one and a half metres.
“We then went onto the next hole where we could here the noises of the thunder storm in the sky. Lee and Maarten teed off and I was just about to place my ball on the tee when they suspended play.
“I have to say that I think they suspended play at just the right time – everyone was able to get back into the clubhouse before it got very, very wet.”
Englishman Gary Emerson had matched Park’s 64 to join the ten strong group of players in joint 12th position on three under par before the heavens opened upon the Pula Golf Club, but, for the moment, Park is the man in command.
The Welshman is hoping to win on The European Tour for the first time in four years, with his last victory coming at the Compaq European Grand Prix in only his second outing on Tour back in 1999.
“I played well tee to green today and my putting was a lot better today than it was yesterday,” said Park. “I have been working on my putting quite a bit recently – I’ve not changed that much about my stroke or anything but have worked on my routine and have been trying to get a bit more precise in everything.
“It has been four years since I last won a tournament and obviously that’s not what I’ve aspired to but you’ve got to take your chances while you can.”
