Broadhurst shows experience to share lead with Lima

Former Ryder Cup duo Paul Broadhurst and Barry Lane, with more than 930 tournaments between them, proved the value of experience in the Portuguese Open today.

Broadhurst carded a flawless 66 to share the halfway lead with Portugal’s Jose-Filipe Lima on eight under par, one shot ahead of Lane and fellow Englishman Simon Dyson.

Lane returned a 67 while Dyson set a new course record with a superb 64 as the players made the most of the calmer conditions at Oitavos Golf Club on Portugal’s Atlantic coast.

Gary Murphy is best of the Irish, tied for ninth on five under after shooting a 68 today.

Broadhurst, who was unbeaten on his sole Ryder Cup appearance at Kiawah Island in 1991, has not won a tour title since the French Open in 1995.

But the 39-year-old midlander enjoyed his best season since 1999 last year and can take encouragement from Lane’s victory after a decade-long wait in the British Masters in 2004.

“There was less wind and it was straight into you today whereas yesterday every shot was into a crosswind which is a nightmare, especially round here where there is a lot of trouble,” said Broadhurst, who struggled for several years after suffering a serious hand injury in Dubai in 2000.

“I was hitting it awful in the pro-am on Wednesday, everything was going right and I couldn’t see how I was going to get it round.

“But I came up early on Thursday and hit some balls before I went out and tried not to worry about it. I did some work with my mental coach, John Pates, and he just tried to get me to relax a bit because I was too uptight. He’s earned his money this week.”

Broadhurst joked that Lane “owes me a tournament” following last season’s British Masters, but the 44-year-old was having none of it.

“I’m not going to let him have it that easy, absolutely not,” said Lane, who played in the European side at The Belfry in 1993.

“He’s one shot ahead of me at the moment but he was one shot ahead of me in the British Masters after three rounds as well.

“It is good to see us both up there especially as we have been playing on tour together for about 18 years and have known each other such a long time. We are very competitive but we get on very well.”

Meanwhile Scotland's Paul Lawrie, now ranked a lowly 346th in the world, looked set to join the leaders until a double bogey on the 17th hole.

The Scot, a winner of the British Open, was furious at being disturbed by a photographer on his second shot to the par four, carving it into a bush to the left of the green. From there he was only able to hack the ball across the green into more trouble.

The 36-year-old from Aberdeen had to settle for a 67 and six under total, two shots off the lead.

Pre-tournament favourite Nick Dougherty also stumbled over the closing stretch for the second day running, carding a double bogey on the 17th and bogey on the 18th.

Dougherty, who ran up a quadruple-bogey eight on the 18th in the first round, was seven under for the day before dropping back to three under par.