Sullivan sets Madeira standard

Welshman Kyron Sullivan carded a second round 70 to set the clubhouse target in the Madeira Island Open.

Sullivan was unable to reproduce the fireworks of his opening 64 at Santo da Serra, but three birdies and one bogey gave him a 10 under par halfway total of 134.

That was good enough for a one-shot lead over playing partner David Higgins, the Irishman firing a superb 66 marred only by a bogey on the 18th.

Two delays for low cloud, the first lasting an hour, meant the second round could not be completed on schedule with Birmingham’s Matthew Morris also on nine under with more than half his round to play.

“I probably played better today than yesterday but just didn’t hole that many putts,” said Sullivan, who narrowly failed to earn his tour card from the Challenge Tour last season and then missed out on the qualifying school after breaking his elbow falling off an exercise ball.

“It wasn’t until we were on the 11th that I realised David had made so many birdies and was on the same score as me and I thought I better pull my finger out and start making some birdies.

“I’m disappointed to bogey the last and I don’t know if 10 under will be leading when the second round is completed, but I’m happy as pie really.”

The 28-year-old from Cardiff is becoming something of a specialist in these co-sanctioned events between the Challenge and European Tour, leading after the first round in St Omer and finishing third in the BMW Russian Open last season.

With a prize fund of 600,000 euros (£412,620), easily the biggest on the Challenge Tour this season, the event is hugely important to the players on the second-tier circuit.

Sullivan admitted he treated it like a major championship, but Higgins prefers to take a more relaxed approach.

The 32-year-old from Waterville had the course record in his sights at one stage of his second round, firing six birdies in eight holes to race to the turn in 30 and then picking up another shot on the 10th.

Four more birdies over his last eight holes would have given Higgins a share of the course record of 61 set by Stephen Scahill in 1998, and even Bradley Dredge’s score of 60 – not an official record due to the preferred lies in operation at the time – was in danger.

But the run of birdies dried up and a bogey on the last meant he had to settle for second in the clubhouse.

“It’s a big event but I wouldn’t think about it in a different way and just try to treat it like I do every other event,” said Higgins, who has already finished third and second in two Challenge Tour events in Mexico and Guatemala this season.

“Sometimes if you put the goals too high you don’t play as well as you should but I’m comfortable here, I like this course and I feel that I can do well. I just have to be patient.

“This is my fifth time here, I played here in 1996 and it was nothing like this. I think it is much fairer now.

“If you play well you’ll have a good score, whereas before anything could happen.”]

With further low cloud hindering play at the highest points of the course, play was eventually suspended for the day at 7pm.

None of the 78 afternoon starters were able to finish their rounds, with play scheduled to resume at 8.30am on Saturday.