Lara claims halfway lead

Jose Manuel Lara topped the leaderboard with a 10 under 130 after the second round of the UBS Hong Kong Open on Friday.

The Spaniard carded just one bogey in a round where he also shot five birdies to move one shot clear of nearest rival Gregory Bourdy.

And Lara, 30th on the European Tour Order of Merit last season, was pleased with his performance over the course of the two days.

“Today I played better than yesterday which is quite good and to stay as leader is nice,” he said.

“I have been playing well the last two months and have led the Majorca Classic and Volvo Masters and I am feeling confident.”

Bourdy carded a faultless round that included four birdies to complete a four-under-par 66 and is nine under.

Three players are tied in third place at eight under, Juvic Pagunsan, Andrew Buckle and Zhang Lian-wei while Indian duo Jeev Milkha Sing and Jyoti Randhawa are both tied at sixth on seven under.

Damien McGrane is best of the Irish on six under with Peter Lawrie one shot further back after an impressive six under par round of 64.

Perhaps the surprise of the tournament is that Retief Goosen failed to make the cut for the weekend after poor displays in the first two rounds.

The South African made par in his opening round but failed to improve today when he carded a one-over par 71, meaning he misses the cut by one shot.

There was better news for Michael Campbell, despite a disappointing one-over-par finish today.

The New Zealander shot four bogeys and three birdies but made the cut thanks to a two-under-par 68 in the first round.

Earlier in the day, defending champion Colin Montgomerie made a marked improved on Thursday’s first round showing to card a four-under-par 66.

Montgomerie shot five birdies and one bogey and is on a five-under-par 135 going into the final two rounds this weekend.

Paul McGinley failed to make the red in either of the first two rounds, carding a one-over-par 71 in his opening round and a three-over 73 today.

Five bogeys and a double bogey summed up a disappointing day for the Irishman. Gary Murphy also missed the cut.

Meanwhile Nick Dougherty hit two bogeys and a double bogey to card a two-over-par 72.