RAYMOND BURNS is poised to follow-up his third successive top 10 finish in the Dubai Desert Classic last weekend after returning a second 71 in the Moroccan Open yesterday.
The 23-year-old from Banbridge was one of the few to master a boisterous afternoon wind and the variable greens of the Royal Links in Agadir. He will start today's third round five shots behind leader David A Russell as top Irish challenger for the £58,000 title.
The emergence of Burns followed a day of trial and tribulation for Ryder Cup prospect Padraig Harrington, who slipped back with a 75, and Philip Walton and Christy O'Connor Jnr who both failed to make the cut. But Ronan Rafferty will be playing at the weekend for the first time this season after an eagle three at the 17th. His 70 put him on two over par at the halfway stage, one stroke inside the qualifying mark.
Russell had a second round 68 to take a one-shot lead over the quintet of England's Mark James, Jon Robson and Brian Davis, Welshman Phillip Price, and Argentinian Jose Coceres. Robson had the lowest round of the tournament so far, a 65, when conditions were at their most benign on a warm, still morning.
Burns owes his position to some stunning iron shots, notably at the fourth, eighth and 12th where holed out from only two feet for birdies. He had five birdies in all, the others coming from putts of 10 feet at the sixth and 15th.
Burns' confidence is soaring after his sixth place in the Dubai field, and he is now beginning to appreciate the value of a well managed schedule. "I plan to take more breaks now instead of playing several tournaments in a row, he said.
Harrington, in contrast, seems content to play every week in his desire to earn a place in this year's Ryder Cup side but the strain is beginning to show. He has always had to contend with elbow and, ankle strains, and now his left wrist is sore. This is hardly surprising considering he is playing his seventh successive event. Harrington has also entered the next two events in Portugal and the Canaries.
By his own admission he did not play well, but it was his putting that let him down, particularly in a spell around the turn when he missed four successive chances from short range, three oft them for pars.
Harrington started each nine with a six on a par five and, though he did hole from 25 feet at the fifth and got down from four feet for birdies at the 12th and 15th, he was the first to recognise it was a laboured performance.
Walton played his first seven holes without making a par but unfortunately, only two of them were birdies. He went on to a 77; for 151 that left him four shots outside the cut-off mark.
The Malahide professional has withdrawn from next week's Portuguese Open which will feature Jose Maria Olazabal's second appearance since his recovery from foot problems.
O'Connor Jnr declared that he was finished with the long putter after ballooning to 80 for a 13-over par total of 157. "It is the last, time it will be in my bag," he said after three double bogeys, and, four three-putts. O'Connor took 40 strokes for each nine and holed only one putt of note, a 10-footer for a birdie four at the 17th.
