Garcia leads despite lost ball problems

Sergio Garcia had to undergo an extensive investigation following a lost-ball incident at Valderrama on Friday before being cleared to keep his one-stroke lead in the Volvo Masters second round.

After Garcia signed for a two-under-par 69, which included a double-bogey at the short third hole, he was told to explain what had happened at the par-three.

It had been reported that he had played on with his second ball, despite his first being found.

Garcia told the tour's chief referee John Paramor he had not realised his ball had been located, even though there was a crowd of around 500 spectators near where it had landed.

The 24-year-old Spaniard had declared "provisional" before playing his second ball and, because it had landed only 12ft from the flag, wanted to continue with it.

After Paramor checked the facts, he decided Garcia should not be disqualified, the penalty for playing on with a provisional ball when the player knows his original had been found.

"I told my caddie not to look for the ball because I wanted to play the second ball and try and get my four," said a relieved Garcia.

"Because nobody told me 'we've found your ball', I just wanted to continue playing my second.

"I was surprised to see John and it was not very nice but I told him everything I did and he thought it was correct.

"I told him I would be the first player to admit if anything was wrong because I couldn't live with that. Even if it was the Volvo Masters, even if it was a major."

Paramor twice reviewed television video footage to ratify Garcia's actions before clearing him, but admitted that it was "bizarre in the extreme" that not one of 500 people had shouted to tell Garcia his ball had been found.

The outcome left Garcia ahead of Britain's Alastair Forsyth on six-under-par. The leader's Ryder Cup team mate, Ian Poulter of Britain, was a further stroke back.

Another of Garcia's Ryder Cup team mates, Darren Clarke, fared far worse at the 17th, however, where he ran up a six-over-par 11 to crash nine strokes off the lead.

He hit his second shot into the fairway bunker and then saw his ball roll down the sloping green into the lake.

Having taken a penalty, he pitched on again only for his ball to slide back into the water and he repeated the feat when he moved to the dropping zone.

In between, marshals had to warn a spectator twice about his mobile phone ringing, but Clarke refused to blame the incident.

"It didn't make any difference whatsoever," Clarke said. "The 17th just about sums up my season.

"My thoughts on what I think about the hole are best kept to myself."

There have been sevens, eights and nines as well this week at 17 but Garcia says he looks forward to playing the hole and he proved so by hitting the green in two and nearly holing a 15ft putt for eagle.

A birdie there and another on the last took him past surprise contender Forsyth, who bogeyed the last to drop a stroke adrift for second place after a 69.

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