Smyth faces early start and another late finish

Des Smyth's final holes at Agadir in the Moroccan Open yesterday were illuminated by the lights on the walls guarding the King's Palace course, but the Westpoint man could not quite finish off his second round of this gale-disrupted event.

When Smyth parred the long 17th it was in almost complete darkness, and he had to give best to the bad light, coming in on nine-under-par, having picked up just one stroke on a seesaw afternoon.

Five birdies inhibited by four bogeys was what the 45-year-old Irish veteran had to show, and he now shares the lead with Australian Stephen Leaney, who birdied two of the last three holes as he just managed to squeeze in his second round.

Now Smyth needs to pick up an early morning shot today to get past the Sydney man.

"Only one under par on an afternoon of perfect conditions just wasn't good enough," conceded Smyth, who with Leaney is a stroke ahead of revitalised Englishman Mark Davis, who had arguably the day's command performance.

"I played really scrappy at times," Smyth said, "not a bit like the first round in similar conditions."

While Smyth has had the best of the weather, that certainly was not the case with 33-year-old Davis. The Essex professional had to get up early to finish off his first round, cut short by the stoppages of Thursday for high winds and sand on the greens. Davis completed a steady 71 and then turned round immediately for a splendid 65, only one off the course record Smyth had equalled the day before. Unlike Seve Ballesteros, who telephoned the course to cry off his remaining six holes when lying 13-over-par overnight, David Higgins bravely tried to make up for his trial by gale the day before.

The Waterville professional, making his 1998 debut after suffering a broken elbow and wrist in a horse-riding accident on New Year's Eve, came back to complete an 81. He looked as though he was battling back, but then, not surprisingly, bearing in mind how rusty his tournament game must be, he collapsed at the end of his round. A 79 left him 15-over-par and resigned to practising here this weekend before flying over for the Portuguese Open. There may be only two other Irishmen as company for Smyth at the course this weekend. Raymond Burns will be there, despite finishing three-over-par with a mistake ridden 79 in gathering gloom. The cut could be three worse than that.