Hansen and Levet lead the way

Dane Soren Hansen and France’s Thomas Levet continued to set a furious pace in the Spanish Open today.

Except for one thing, that is. Hansen’s group was being timed for possible slow play after falling out of position.

The Copenhagen golfer’s opening 63 had broken the PGA Catalunya course record by one – an hour after Levet had equalled the old mark.

As the first player to tee off in the second round, Levet took the chance to go in front with birdies at the third and fifth.

But Hansen was quick to respond, hitting a five-wood to 12 feet for an eagle at the 527-yard 12th, his third. There had been only three eagles there so far in the championship and he had managed two of them.

By adding a birdie at the long 15th Hansen, the only member of last year’s European Ryder Cup side not to have qualified for next week’s Players Championship in Florida, turned in 33.

He was 12 under and Levet 11 under after an outward 34 was followed by another birdie at the 397-yard 13th.

The chasing pack were four further back on seven under. Scottish rookie Callum Macaulay and Spaniard Jose Manuel Lara were later starters and had been joined by Dublin pair Paul McGinley and defending champion Peter Lawrie.

McGinley covered the inward half in 32 and started back with a fifth birdie of the day, while Lawrie grabbed a hat-trick of birdies straight after turning in 36.

Other players not off until after lunch included John Daly and Colin Montgomerie. They were two under and level par respectively and their first task was to negotiate a halfway cut likely to fall at two under.