Linhart defies bad weather

Spain's Pedro Linhart defied all the foul weather Madeira could throw at him to surge into the lead midway through the second round at Santo da Serra.

The 36-year-old fired a 64, eight under par, through wind, rain and fog after another lengthy delay to the £350,000 tournament.

His 10-under total of 134 gave him a four-shot lead over compatriot Diego Borrego who shot a 67 to be six under.

Linhart is of American descent but was born in Las Palmas, Tenerife, and took out Spanish citizenship in the 1980s.

So far he has struggled to make his mark on the tour but he finished fifth at the Qualifying School to retain his card and has no doubts his time will come.

"I've had a couple of chances to win and I feel that sooner or later it has to happen," he said. "I've got more experience now.

"Definitely I feel I should have won the French Open last year and I could have won in Lyon in my first year on tour. Once you are in there it's not only experience, you need a touch of luck as well."

A two-hour delay for fog in the morning meant there was no chance to make up for the lost time on Thursday and half the field were unable to complete their second rounds.

Of those who made it to the sanctuary of the clubhouse, English duo David Howell and John Bickerton were in a group on four under 140, six behind Linhart.

Howell, Order of Merit leader after his win in Dubai earlier in the season, finished his first round 68 at noon and went out an hour later to add a second round 72.

Bickerton had a similar experience, adding a 71 to his opening 69 to make the cut for the ninth consecutive event this season.

Howell said: "There's nothing you can do about the weather so everybody is quite relaxed. Both times play has been suspended the sun's come out straight afterwards, but I played well and only missed three greens.

"I wasn't particularly happy with my game after Dubai and came back after a week off a bit rusty.

"It's also easy to get into the habit of thinking about winning tournaments when you step on the first tee on Thursday and you can't start to do that until maybe after the third round."