Jacquelin moves one clear at halfway

Frenchman Raphael Jacquelin used his silky smooth swing to good effect in a round of 65 that secured the halfway lead in the Dunhill Championship on Friday.

The 29-year-old moved to 13 under par after two rounds, one stroke ahead of Ireland's Peter Lawrie and Germany's Marcel Siem at the par-72 Houghton Golf Club.

Denmark's Soren Hansen and Scotland's Alan McLean finished at 11 under, with South Africa's Titch Moore the highest place local player on 10 under.

Jacquelin, who finished 20th on last year's European order of merit, had a bogey-free round including seven birdies in near perfect conditions as the recent heavy rain gave way to bright sunshine.

"I hit the ball well today but it was much easier than yesterday," Jacquelin said. "I've been in contention for the last two weeks which has helped my confidence. My goal for the year is to move into the top 50 in the world rankings."

Lawrie, the 2003 rookie of the year, enjoyed the best round of the day as he posted a bogey-free eight-under 64 in the morning despite suffering from a painful Achilles tendon.

"I don't know what happened, I woke up this morning and my ankle was really painful," he said. "I went to the physio this morning but I could still feel it through the round."

He missed two short putts for birdie on the par-three eighth and par-four ninth but added good birdies on the par-fives at 16 and 18 after missing the fairway from the tee.

Siem shot a five-under 67 after starting the day as joint leader with Denmark's Anders Hansen and McLean.

He had moved to 13-under after 10 holes with a front nine 31 and a birdie on 10th before losing a stroke on the par-three 12th.

His nine-iron tee-shot plugged in a bunker behind the green and the German could only send the ball back across the putting surface. He managed to get up and down from the fringe but the bogey halted his momentum.

Englishmen Justin Rose and Lee Westwood had varying fortunes with Rose, the 2002 champion, missing the halfway cut after a 69 left him level for the tournament. Westwood shot a two-under 70 for a 36-hole aggregate of six under par.

Trevor Immelman, last week's South African Open winner, carded a 69 to move to five-under.

Austrian Steven Waltman recorded the second hole in one of the week when his seven-iron approach to the par-three sixth found the hole, and South African Chris Davison repeated the feat at the 12th.

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