Hearn hopes he's backed a winner in Owen

Sports entrepreneur Barry Hearn was starting to lick his lips today after backing Greg Owen for the Algarve Portuguese Open at Vale do Lobo.

Hearn – the chairman of Leyton Orient, who moved into golf management after successful stint in snooker and boxing – played with the Mansfield golfer in Wednesday’s pro-am and was impressed enough to take him each way at odds of 33/1.

With four holes of his second round to go Owen was eight under par and two ahead of overnight leader Fredrik Jacobson.

It was a bit of a rollercoaster ride, however, for the 31-year-old, who has had no fewer than 19 top 10 finishes on the European tour without ever doing better than third.

Two behind the Swede after his opening 66, Owen resumed with a pitch to four feet on the 323-yard 10th and holed for a birdie, but bogeyed the short 11th and double-bogeyed the dangerous 481-yard par four 14th after hooking his drive and losing it.

Needing a pick-me-up at that point, it soon came thanks to a 217-yard third-iron to three feet for an eagle at the 17th and after bogeying the second he birdied the next three to take over at the top.

Jacobson, whose sparkling first day effort broke the course record by two, was much less adventurous, but his only deviations from par on his first 11 holes - he also began on the back nine – were bogeys at the 13th and 16th

Two strokes further back in third place was German Marcel Siem, a graduate from last November’s qualifying school, while Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Spaniard Carlos Rodiles stood joint fourth on three under.

Donaldson’s compatriot Bradley Dredge, winner of the Madeira Island Open on his last start four weeks ago, double-bogeyed the 12th and bogeyed the 14th, but birdies at the 17th and second lifted him back to two under.

One further back was Surrey’s Andrew Raitt after three birdies in his first four holes. He would have been fourth but for the two-stroke penalty incurred yesterday when he was four minutes late on the tee after a mix-up over the bus shuttle provided for the players to the 10th tee.

Phillip Price, one over in his search for a record-equalling third win in the event, and Lee Westwood, likely to miss the cut after a desperately disappointing opening 81, were among the later starters.

Latest leaderboard

1 OWEN -7 15

2 JACOBSON -6 13

T3 DREDGE -3 13

T3 SIEM -3 13

T3 RODILES -3 0

T6 DAVIS -2 12

T6 MCDOWELL -2 0

T8 BRAND JNR. -1 15

T8 DONALDSON -1 12

T8 LYNN -1 12