| Madeira,
Portugal, 19th June 1998 -
Stephen Scahill of New Zealand smashed the Santo da Serra course record with an
11-under-par 61 to take a three-shot lead in the second round of the Madeira Island
Open on Friday. It
was the European Tour's third 61 in successive events as last week's Compaq European Grand Prix in northern England was
washed out. England's
Lee Westwood carded the first in the Deutsche Open TPC of Europe in Germany three weeks
ago and Australian lefthander Greg Chalmers duplicated the feat in the National
Car Rental English Open a week later. Scahill,
a former world amateur team championship winner, ended with a three-stroke lead
and only a three-putt bogey on the 17th, his eighth hole, prevented the Wellington
professional equalling the European Tour record 60 for 18 holes. "I
didn't even feel I was playing that well but often that's how these things happen,"
said Scahill, whose previous best was a 64 in last year's BMW International in
Munich. "The
key was my approach shots. I hit pin-high every time and then my putter got hot.
I missed only one green and had only 25 putts." He
launched his bid for the lead with an eagle on the long third, his 12th hole,
after a three-iron approach to 10 feet, following with four birdies in the last
six holes to storm three strokes ahead of 1994 champion Mats Lanner of Sweden,
who fired a 66, and German Thomas Gogele (68). One
of Scahill's partners in New Zealand's 1992 Eisenhower Trophy world amateur team
victory, Michael Campbell, shared fourth place on 138 after a 67 with Austrian
Rudi Sailer (68) and Francisco Cea of Spain (69) First
round leader David Tapping of Britain dropped back to joint seventh after a 73.
Scahill currently
lies 178th on the Volvo Ranking after only two previous events this year and is
eyeing the £50,000 first prize to regain his playing rights in one fell swoop
after losing his tour card last year. He
has had to play on the lesser European Challenge Tour this year to make his money
and lies sixth on that ranking, with the top 15 gaining tour cards. "I
went to America in the winter and worked hard on my game at the David Leadbetter
Academy in Florida. I'd just missed my card by a few thousand pounds last year,
and then just failed to make it at tour school," he said. "Somebody's
got to win this week and you dream of a chance to get a two-year exemption by
doing so." | 
