Jimenez overhauls Els to take a two shot lead in Dubai

RYDER CUP star Miguel Angel Jimenez, 279th in the world only 20 months ago and now 16th, continued his remarkable return to form yesterday.

A second-round 65 in the Dubai Desert Classic took the 41-year-old Spaniard from one behind Ernie Els to two in front at the halfway stage of the £1.2m tournament.

Welshman Stephen Dodd, winner of the China Open in November, lies third Dane Thomas Bjorn, South African James Kingston and Colin Montgomerie are in joint fourth.

The Scot will return to the world's top 50 with a first or second-place finish, and that would put him in line for a late call-up to next month's Masters.

But as he acknowledged, there are no mugs at the top of the leaderboard.

There were two Irish qualifiers. Damien McGrane added a 69 to his opening 71 for 140 while Paul McGinley followed his opening 70 with a 71 for a 141 total.

Gary Murphy and Paul Lawrie missed the cut.

Els has yet to have a bogey all week. But by adding only four birdies to his pace-setting 66, he gave a chance for his closest overnight pursuers and Jimenez took it.

The Malaga golfer rolled in eight birdie putts, before a drive into rough on his closing hole led to a bogey and 12-under-par total of 132.

"I am like the good wines, you know," said Jimenez in his fractured English."With the age, getting better."

With number one Vijay Singh the same age, Jimenez has not given up hope that the best is still to come.

Second to Tiger Woods in the 2000 US Open albeit a massive 15 strokes behind he said: "I would like to be in position to win a major and win it. I would like to be in position for the Order of Merit and the next Ryder Cup, but this is long-term target. I just worry about what happens now and I'm just enjoying this moment."

Playing partner Lee Westwood is six under after a 68 in which he broke his driver and had to send for a spare.

Els picked off birdies at three of the four par-fives but did not capitalise elsewhere. "I couldn't quite get the yardages into the greens correctly," he said.

Dodd matched Jimenez's 65 to charge to nine under, while fellow Welshman Bradley Dredge had a chance to join him but lost a ball on the par-five last and fell back into the group on six under.

Dredge hooked his approach over the lake and towards the hospitality marquee by the green. He thought it might break a window but he heard and saw nothing and despite his caddie crawling under the marquee, it was never seen again.

Defending champion Mark O'Meara missed the cut on one over but new Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam made it on one under.