Lawrie back in the swing

Paul Lawrie kept himself firmly in contention in the Portuguese Open by reverting to the putting technique which helped him enter golf’s Hall of Fame.

The Scot decided to wind back the clock after studying some old videos and is again following the format which saw him win the Open in 1999.

Lawrie heads into the third round on six under after posting a 70 at Le Meridien.

He said: “I am putting a lot better now, which makes a big difference.

“I have gone back to the old style after watching some tapes over the last couple of weeks.

“I am putting a lot more weight on the left side, and that has brought an improvement.”

He had a mixed bag here, the highlight an eagle at the par-four third where he holed his wedge from 11 yards.

Lawrie said: “I had lots of birdies and bogeys – but six under is not bad on this course, because it’s a bit fiddly.

“But I am playing well at the moment and starting to hit a little bit of form.”

Overnight leader Paul Broadhurst picked up two shots on the day and remained in pole position at 10 under with four to play.

He was leading by shot from Christian Cevaer and Christian Nilsson, with Jarmo Sandelin on seven under after finishing with a 70.

Swedish rookie Nilsson was going along nicely, having been on Broadhurst’s shoulder after the first round.

Gary Clark (67) and Anthony Wall (67) are also well placed on six under.

Clark picked up six birdies in 13 holes, but a double-bogey five at the 16th saw him slip back to four under.

However, he completed his round in style by picking up a shot at the last two holes.

Clark said: “You have to hit it straight around here and find the fairways, which I did quite well today.

“I have had two bad swings in two rounds which have cost me double bogeys - but apart from that it is going well.

“It is a nice position to be in for the weekend. When you are on form there is nothing better than being out here.”