Smyth and Torrance thrilled to be in the hunt

DES SMYTH and Sam Torrance, who between them have walked something like 30,000 miles on the European tour, looked as fresh as daisies in Spain yesterday.

I t was no wonder either Smyth had a 63, the second lowest round of his 29-year career, and fellow 49-year-old Torrance a 66 to keep him on the high he has been enjoying since leading Europe to their famous Ryder Cup victory last month.

A 90-minute fog delay at the start of the day meant the second round of the Telefonica Madrid Open could not be completed before nightfall, but as it spilled into today Smyth was only a stroke behind his fellow Irishman Padraig Harrington and South African Trevor Immelman, with Torrance just two back.