John Bland swept clear at the top of the leaderboard on 137 - five under par - when the halfway stage of the £600,000 Senior British Open was reached at Royal Co Down yesterday. But even with Jack Nicklaus slipping five strokes adrift, there were some absorbing distractions to embellish the overall appeal of the event.

For instance, while Arnold Palmer was making a premature departure and promising to give "serious consideration" to a return next year, 77-year-old contemporary, Al Balding, was doing wondrous things. Having beaten his age with an opening 76 on Thursday, the Canadian positively crushed Old Man Time with a second-round 71.

Balding will be recalled as having partnered George Knudson to a memorable victory for Canada in the 1968 World Cup in Rome, where he captured the individual title.

And as a competitor on the embryonic US Seniors' Tour, he had the distinction of carding an albatross in the Peter Jackson Champions tournament in 1982.

Bland's better nature prompted him to sympathise with the plight of the holder, Christy O'Connor Jnr, who is recovering from a broken leg.

"It's a shame Christy couldn't defend and I hope he's soon back in action," said the South African.

But his competitive instincts would have welcomed the absence of a rival who beat him into second place in this event for the last two years.

By opening with an eagle for a second successive day, this time by sinking an 18-foot putt after a four-iron second shot, Bland seemed reluctant to build on his good fortune as he reached the turn in 36 - one over par. But the basis of a fine 69 was laid with three birdies in a row after the turn, starting with a spectacular five-iron to six inches at the 197-yard 10th.

Like so many others, he had problems on the 18th, which he described as "probably the most wonderful par five I've ever played." But by that stage he had done enough to be a stroke clear of Bob Charles and Florida resident David Oakley on four under.

Freshening winds in the afternoon, pushed the cut out to allow a delighted Arthur Pierse in on 150.

"I need to improve my chipping and putting," he said after a 74 which included a double-bogey six at the difficult 15th, where he missed the green right.

Of the Irish qualifiers, none displayed better survival instincts than Denis O'Sullivan, who got through on 148. After an opening 76, the Corkman went nine over par for the championship with a horrendous nine at the third. There, after hitting his second into the face of a bunker, he took three to escape before the horror was completed by a pitch and three putts.

But he recovered admirably to play the last seven holes in four under par, including a birdie, birdie, birdie finish.

"I would have been very disappointed not to get through here," he said. "This is the big one and I'm very pleased to have shot a 72 with a nine on my card."

Palmer, who followed an 84 on Thursday with a far more acceptable 75 which contained a two-under-par back nine of 34, indicated that he may soon be ready to call it a day.

"I'm getting close to giving up regular tournaments but I will continue to play occasional events, especially the Masters," he said.

Only six weeks from his 72nd birthday, he was angry with himself for not preparing sufficiently well for such a difficult challenge.

"It was a major error not to arrive here until Wednesday," he said. "Ideally I would have needed two more practice rounds."

Then, reflecting on Thursday's round and the warmth of the galleries, he made the memorable comment: "With all the adulation, there has to be some humiliation."

Meanwhile, when Bland suggested cautiously that anyone within five strokes could still win, he may have had Nicklaus in mind. "If I play well, I can make that up pretty easily," said the Bear.

And no one would doubt him.