Clarke edges Els after lightning delay

Having to wait 122 minutes to play his second shot to the final green failed to stop Ulsterman Darren Clarke snatching the lead from Ernie Els at the Volvo PGA championship at Wentworth.

A ferocious thunderstorm forced play to be suspended just before 5pm, but when it resumed, Clarke hit a 220-yard five-wood and two-putted from 50 feet for a birdie and a 67 to close on 10-under 134, one ahead of Els.

The South African star, whose wife Liezl gave birth to a daughter Samantha on Wednesday, also shot 67 and, looking ahead to their battle together, Clarke joked: "Hopefully, Ernie's baby will wake him up three or four times during the night."

Three times a runner-up in the event and three times a winner of the World Match Play on the course, Els had just the start to his day he was hoping for when he almost made the first albatross of his career on the long fourth.

Birdies followed on the sixth, ninth and 12th, and after he bogeyed the next, another came at the 466-yard 15th.

Els, whose new home backs onto the 16th hole, said: "Liezl and the baby were there as I came past. The house is full of flowers, and this is a wonderful time for us.

"Thankfully, the house is big enough that I don't need earplugs at night and I'm sleeping OK. It's tough for Liezl, though.

"I told myself today to play some golf and get out of the clouds. While I didn't play so good on the back nine, I'll take 67 round here any day."

Clarke appears back in the groove which saw him finish second to Montgomerie on last year's money list.

He was 157 under par in achieving that but after missing the cut in the Masters last month, he stood 70 over par for this season and parted company from coach Pete Cowen.

Seeking help from Tiger Woods's coach Butch Harmon appears to have restored his confidence. This afternoon he followed up his first day 67 by turning in a three-under 32 and then adding a fourth birdie at the long 12th.

His only problem came when he returned to the 18th to find the tee peg he had marked his ball with missing, as was playing partner Colin Montgomerie's.

But defending champion Montgomerie finished even better, smashing a five-iron to 12 feet and holing for an eagle that lifted him to five under.

The third member of the group, Bernhard Langer, was the overnight leader, but managed only a 73 to slip to six under. The trio were warned for slow play during the round, but escaped being penalised shots.

Els's fellow South African Retief Goosen, current leader of the Order of Merit, is in third on eight under, and a stroke further behind are Ryder Cup captain Mark James and Scot Dean Robertson.

Nick Faldo appeared to have just survived the cut on one over following a 71, although the second round will not be completed until tomorrow morning because of the delay.

James continued his bid for a first victory for over two years with a 70. If the 45-year-old from Ilkley does claim the £216,000 first prize on Monday, he could leap from 26th to fourth in the race for places in his own team.

Having insisted from the moment he took on the job that he would be a non-playing captain, James could find himself facing a tricky decision - whether to give up the captaincy to win another cap.

"You can't rule anything out," he said. "I could win four tournaments and the Open - in which case I might retire from golf."

This season, James has finished third in the Dubai Desert Classic and second in Madeira and he said after the first of those: "If I was in form and thought I would be a real asset to the team, I would consider playing. Somebody else would have to take over the captaincy."

Sam Torrance, who along with television commentator Ken Brown has been named by James as a vice-captain, has not given up hope of playing yet either.

Primarily because of rib trouble, the 1985 cup hero - 46 this August - had made only one halfway cut out of eight attempts this season coming to Wentworth but he will go into the third round on six under following a bogey-free 68.

"I'm going to go for it," stated Torrance, down in 46th spot in the points table. "I'll try to play the best golf I can and try to win this and try to make the Ryder Cup. Not much to ask, is it?"

Fellow countryman Robertson began this month by winning the Italian Open and is now back at the course on which he led with five holes to play last May before slipping back to fifth.

A stable-mate of world snooker champion Stephen Hendry, the 28-year-old from Paisley said after a 69 completed by a tap-in eagle: "I've got the same thoughts as I had in Italy.

"Last year is forgotten, but every time you come to a hole you know a little bit more about it. I think I can win and I'll come out tomorrow all guns blazing."

Goosen is in an even richer vein of form. Out of the game with a broken arm over the winter after a snowboarding accident, he won the French Open three weeks ago and went top of the Order of Merit by finishing second to Tiger Woods in Germany last Monday.

He and Els came through the amateur ranks together and Els said: "I think Retief has always been a late developer. I was fortunate to get a couple of majors early on, but he has always been a great talent and he's not far from winning a major.

"He won two Dunhill Cups for us (Goosen did not lose in 10 matches), and I think he is now getting into his groove and will be real threat to Monty on this tour."

It looks increasingly certain that 19-year-old Sergio Garcia will be as well one day soon.

At four over with three to play, last year's British amateur champion - third in the Byron Nelson Classic on the US Tour a fortnight ago - was in severe danger of missing his first cut in four starts as a professional.

But he sank a 12-foot birdie putt on the 16th and then struck a three-iron to three feet on the last - from the right-hand rough - for an eagle three.

As the day's play drew to a close, Garcia looked to have just survived alongside Ian Woosnam on one over par, but Seve Ballesteros, despite two closing birdies, was in danger of missing out at two over.

Sporting Life