(Reuters) - German youngster Martin Kaymer, Swede Henrik Nystrom and England’s Sam Walker held a one shot lead at the halfway stage of the Scandinavian Masters.
Kaymer, starting in early afternoon, had to battle with strong winds that had bedevilled the morning starters and bogeyed the tough short 18th to deny himself the outright lead. A round of two under par 68, though, set the target of five under par 135.
The Dusseldorf player does not want to be referred to as "the new Bernhard Langer" but he is poised to follow in the double Masters Tournament champion's footsteps.
Langer won his first European Tour title, the 1980 Dunlop Masters, when he was 23. Kaymer, 22, has shown similar promise in this his rookie year and led The Celtic Manor Wales Open in June after three rounds, only to slump down the field to 14th.
But the experience can help him get the job done this weekend, he admitted. "In Wales I played with the local hero Bradley Dredge in the final round and that was a great experience, with all the spectators,” he said.
"I think you need to get used to that and I have only had that one time, but I am pretty young and I think I can learn."
While Kaymer appreciates Langer's huge contribution to German golf, his role model is South African Ernie Els, with whom he has played this year.
"Bernhard is Bernhard and we are two different people. He is my German role model, but in general it is Ernie, he's so relaxed."
Under the 'first in, last out’ Tour rule, Kaymer will not play with another local favourite in Saturday's third round, with Nystrom paired with fourth-placed James Kingston of South Africa (68).
Co-leaders Nystrom and Walker had slightly more benign conditions when finishing off rounds of 68 and 70 respectively.
Both are also looking for maiden titles, Nystrom with three career second place European Tour finishes on his record.
Nystrom, 114th on the money-list, aims to be the fourth Swedish winner of the event but a top five finish would ensure him of a Tour card for next year. Walker, lying 148th, has rather more to do.
Jean-Baptiste Gonnet of France, who also benefited from calmer afternoon conditions, and two Englishmen, Nick Dougherty and Edward Rush, who battled with the strong morning gusts, are a further stroke back on three under par in fifth place.
Dougherty had to claw back from four over par after just four holes when the gusts were at their highest, salvaging his round with an eagle and four birdies, dropping only one more shot.
The 25 year old Englishman cited "staying patient and biding my time," when things were going wrong, for his recovery, a knack he picked up last week when watching Tiger Woods win the US PGA Championship.
"I didn't get flustered by my start," he said. "In the past I've tended to push harder when I'm struggling. It's all about not compounding mistakes. Tiger does it perfectly. He just keeps going because he has good momentum and he is comfortable with what he is doing.
"I watched the US PGA Championship coverage last week, even though I missed the cut. I've tried to apply that this week."
This year Dougherty led in Singapore and in Italy with just a few holes to go but let the titles slip from his grasp. He has worked with a sports psychologist to try and curb his impatience, and Dougherty is convinced his new approach will bring him an elusive second title.
Rush is something of a surprise contender, lying 164th on The European Tour Order of Merit, with a best finish of tied sixth in January's Joburg Open.
Tournament promoter Jesper Parnevik, who has won the Scandinavian Masters twice, squeezed in on the three-over cut mark, but American invitee John Daly missed out on the weekend’s action as did the two players who contested last year’s play-off in the event, eventual winner Marc Warren of Scotland and home Swedish favourite Robert Karlsson.
