Pettersson leads in difficult conditions

With the blustery conditions at Vale do Lobo ensuring scores were kept high, Sweden's Carl Pettersson managed to post a superb six-under-par 66 to lead after the delayed first round of the Algarve Open de Portugal.

The 24-year-old held his nerve to shoot seven birdies, with his only bogey coming at the third, and open up a four shot lead over the English duo of Gary Evans and David Gilford, Italian Emanuele Canonica, Bradley Dredge of Wales and Finland’s Mikko Ilonen.

The main factor driving scores into the 70's was the wind whipping off the Atlantic Ocean, play suspended for two hours and five minutes at one stage with the players' balls moving on the greens.

Pettersson though took advantage of some calm conditions on Friday morning to move into the driving seat and make a ninth successive cut almost certain.

If he can maintain his charge, then there is no reason why he can't claim his maiden European Tour victory on Sunday after coming third in the recent Dubai Desert Classic.

He claimed afterwards: "It is difficult to win but I think the way I’ve been playing it is a possibility. I am playing to win that’s for sure.

"You have to have a bit of luck to win a golf tournament but mainly it is just down to stringing four good rounds together.

"I tend to have three good ones and a 73 or something like that in there. If I can turn the 73 or 74 into a 70, then perhaps that might make the difference.

"But I love being in charge of a tournament or close to the lead. I tend to play better when I get some pressure on me. I sometimes get a little bored if I’m not doing well and I tend to concentrate a lot better if I’m playing well."

Back in second, Evans stood out with a rollercoaster of a round that included six birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey six.

The 33-year-old struck an errant shot at the sixth that landed in a hazard, forcing him to take a penalty drop.

He declared afterwards: "We got away with reasonable weather early on but then about the tenth or 11th it started raining.

"It is that horrible type of rain too that just gets everywhere, every time you try and prepare for a shot it is a whole palaver.

"It was a very tough day at the office so I was really pleased to get through it with 70."

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