Irish nomads set up their camp in the desert

LIKE late-night revellers, the Irish clearly had no wish to go home. Nine out of the 10 challengers survived the half-way cut in the Desert Classic here at the Emirates club yesterday; Ronan Rafferty was the only Irish casualty, and Des Smyth birdied his last two holes to survive on the limit of 145 - one over par.

With Raymond Burns (-7), Padraig Harrington (-6) and Paul McGinley (-4) within reach of surprise leader, Domingo Hospital (-10), there is reason to hope for a repeat of events of seven years ago. The 1990 tournament saw Eamonn Darcy capture the title ahead of David Feherty, while Smyth was tied third with Seve Ballesteros.

It was another splendid occasion for Burns, who seems to delight in the desert air. He was tied eighth on his first visit here in 1995 and shared fifth place behind Colin Montgomerie last year. "I like the layout of the course; I feel comfortable here," he said afterwards.

The Irish presence is further enhanced by the draw for today's third round, in which Burns will be paired with Harrington in the third-last grouping.

Meanwhile, comfort was a word far from the lips of most competitors, including the Stackstown player, as freshening winds made for a searching test.

Yet the challenge of shaping shots allowed Christy O'Connor Jnr to display his rather special skills. In his first tournament appearance since last July, he had a second round of 73 to make the cut on 144 - level par. "I wanted this so badly I nearly had a heart-attack out there," he said afterwards, with typical expansiveness.

After starting on the 10th, O'Connor had to contend with the most difficult holes, the eighth and ninth, at the end of his round. At the eighth, an uphill par four of 434 yards playing directly into the wind, he hit a superb, three-wood second shot of 218 yards to within six feet of the flag. He missed the putt but secured a precious par.

Then, at the 463-yard ninth, where the tee shot and approach were across the wind, he was on the green with a four-iron second shot. Again, two putts secured his par and survival.

Burns faced the same challenge after he, too, had started on the long 10th, where he recovered from a greenside trap to 15 feet and sank the putt for an opening birdie. Though he three-putted the 15th for a bogey, it came between two further birdies, bringing him to the turn at six-under for the tournament.

On the front nine, a 25-foot birdie putt found the target at the second and he protected his score admirably over the remaining seven holes. His play of the eighth was far from orthodox, however, as a badly-hit two-iron along the ground had to be followed by a punched eight-iron of 118 yards which came to rest five feet from the hole. And the putt duly went down.

He also parred the ninth in imaginative fashion. After driving into a bunker on the right, a four-iron of 185 yards finished 15 feet behind the hole. "It is only in the last year that I have learned to work the ball in a left to right wind with my irons," he said. "I played those shots really well today."

Harrington seemed more at ease in the elevated company of Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer for a second day. And he was "very happy" with a level par round in which his lag-putting was of a very high order, while he sank six nasty little three-footers.

Starting with a birdie on the 10th, he had another on the long 13th, but dropped shots at the 11th and 14th through slack approach play. From there on, one could sense his determination not to do anything silly in the trying conditions. So it was that he completed the round with 13 straight pars.

The last of these was at the ninth, where he was the only one of the trio to be on the green in regulation. And the only one of them to make four there. This was the product of a brave three-iron shot of 190 yards, hit out over the lake and cut onto the crosswind.

"I could have been more aggressive but it was a tough day," he said. "And two bogeys in those conditions is as good as you're going to get."

Given his eagle, birdie start, McGinley was understandably a little deflated at having to settle for a round of 71. He holed a 10-yard chip at the long 10th and followed it with a 20-foot putt at the short 11th.

But he was in the water at the long 18th for a six, and had two three-putts on the front nine, one of them for a bogey. "I didn't putt as well as yesterday but I'm still in with a shout," he said.

In his first event of the season, Philip Walton was pleased with a 70 for 142. Highlights of his round were an eagle three at the long 13th, where he chipped in from 20 yards, and two drivers to 20 feet for a par at the eighth.

Darcy was crushed by a round of 77. Having feared a collapse of his putting, it was his play from tee to green which let him down. "Still, it's better than an early flight home," he said.

In sharp contrast, David Higgins had a fine second round of 71. His best shot was a three-iron of 190 yards into the wind at the 436-yard fifth, which finished 18 inches from the pin.