Peugeot Open de España
El Prat
Barcelona, Spain
23rd - 26th April 1998

Par 72 Prize Money £550,000

Second Round Report

Second Round Scores
First Round Report
First Round Scores

Chalmers and Allenby share halfway lead

Barcelona, Spain, 24th April 1998 - Over 18 months on from the car crash that literally stopped his glittering career in its tracks, Robert Allenby has finally started looking like one of golf's top talents again.

The 26-year-old shares the halfway lead in the Peugeot Spanish Open with fellow Australian Greg Chalmers after sparkling rounds of 66 and 64 at El Prat near Barcelona.

Left-hander Chalmers, meanwhile, has so far shot 64-66 and on 14 under par they are three in front of a group of five - Welshman Phillip Price, Swindon's David Howell, American Jay Townsend, Argentinian Eduardo Romero and former Ryder Cup player Gordon Brand Jnr, the Bristol-based Scot who has gone nearly five years without a win.

Bernhard Langer and 1996 winner Padraig Harrington missed the halfway cut at one under and three under respectively, but Seve Ballesteros made it by the skin of his teeth at four under.

Pre-tournament favourites Jose Maria Olazabal and Ian Woosnam are seven under and five under. Defending champion Mark James stands 10 under and 18-year-old Spanish amateur star Sergio Garcia is eight under.

In September 1996 Allenby was challenging Colin Montgomerie for the European Order of Merit title when he suffered a fractured sternum and head injuries in the crash in southern Spain.

A month later he hit the headlines by flying from his Melbourne home back to Spain to hit one painful shot - a 30-yard drive - in the Volvo Masters that earned him £73,000.

He had to tee off in the event to collect the bonus for finishing third on the money list, but he did it not for the cash (he gave it all to charity), but to secure his place in the US Masters the following April.

By Augusta, however, he had still to recover full fitness and missed the halfway cut by 10 shots. The former Australian, English and French Open champion believes it is only now that he is close to his best once more.

"I had a birdie chance virtually every hole," Allenby said of his 64. "The greens are great, the course is in perfect condition and with hardly any wind it's playing easy.

"Physically I've been 100% since last July, but mentally it's taken a lot longer to get back to where I was."

At 14 under he and Chalmers, who came home in 29 with four birdies and a holed bunker shot for an eagle two, have a chance to break the European tour scoring record.

That is held by Canadian Jerry Anderson, who was 27 under in winning the 1984 Swiss Open.

Brand's last victory was the 1993 European Open and he last played in the Ryder Cup nine years ago.

He blames working with coaching "gurus" for his lack of success.

"I should have realised that, rather than changing my swing, what I had was pretty good," said the 39-year-old, who had five birdies and a 25-foot eagle putt on the long 15th.

"My original swing has long gone and I'm trying to just let it happen."

Howell, the 22-year-old former Walker Cup amateur chasing his first tour win, added a 68 to his opening 65, while Price's 66 came just five days after he finished joint runner-up in the Cannes Open.

His only victory was the 1994 Portuguese Open and winning again is among the goals he has set himself. Another is a place in Europe's top 20 for the first time.

"It's time to move on, I hope," commented the 31-year-old, who the last three seasons has finished 110th, 73rd and 39th on the Order of Merit.

The four under par halfway cut was only one outside the tour record and ex-Ryder Cup man Barry Lane bogeyed two of his last four holes to miss out by one. He has now gone seven months without surviving a cut.