Well rested Aiken has one shot lead

A SEVEN-WEEK break appears to have done South African Thomas Aiken no harm at all and he takes a one-shot lead into the third round of the Spanish Open in Barcelona.

The 27-year-old, who did not even touch a club during a month in the Bahamas, had his second successive 68 at El Prat to take over at the top from Scotland’s Scott Jamieson.

“When I started (practising) again I thought ‘what the hell have you done?’ because everything felt so strange,” said Aiken.

“I wasn’t expecting much this week. I was using it to prepare for the rest of the season.”

Tour rookie Jamieson dropped to joint third by following his opening 66 with a 72, a much better score than looked likely when he bogeyed three of the first six holes.

In between them is Pablo Larrazabal, playing on his home course.