McGinley hits form to surge ahead

Paul McGinley, the hero of The Belfry 18 months ago when he holed the winning putt for Europe in the Ryder Cup, thought it was only a matter of time before he started scoring well, despite being one over par here on Thursday evening. The Irishman was proved right quicker than he could possibly have imagined as he left behind all thoughts of battling to make the halfway cut and took the lead during the second round of the Dubai Desert Classic.

Fog again delayed the start of play and half the field, including the overnight leader Bradley Dredge, still have to complete their second rounds this morning. McGinley was on the 12th hole of his first round when he resumed yesterday and he made 14 birdies in the 24 full holes he played.

He finished his first round with four consecutive birdies and started his second with four more. The run was ended by a bogey and although the European Tour record for consecutive birdies stands at eight, McGinley's name will not be added to the list as it was achieved over two rounds.

"I don't think it should count," agreed McGinley, "but I've certainly never had as many as eight birdies in a row. If I knew the secret, I would bottle it. It wasn't the number of birdies but the quality of the birdies that pleased me. The distance control on my iron shots was great."

Now ranked 159th in the world, McGinley needs a good run of form in events such as this to maintain his place in the Ryder Cup team. "The Ryder Cup increased my profile a thousand times and I'd love the opportunity to play again," he said.

A second round of 65 took him to 11 under and one ahead of his playing partner, Mark O'Meara, who got into the groove with a 64. The 47-year-old former Open champion has struggled in recent years and said he had "a bit of a hitch-up to my giddy-up on the old putting stroke".

Talk about avoiding the unmentionable "yips". O'Meara, one of the game's great putters, added that he is now more confident than ever after developing a new putting grip he calls "The Saw". He places three fingers of his right hand on top of the shaft. "That locks the right wrist in the same way as in a swing motion and eliminates the 'hit' in the stroke," he explained.

O'Meara is five ahead of his friend Tiger Woods at five under. While McGinley was going round with O'Meara, Paul Casey partnered the world No 1. The Englishman, on seven under, was pleased to have outscored Woods by two strokes. "As my caddie said, 'At least he knows who you are now'," Casey admitted. "I've played practice rounds with Tiger but it's different in a tournament.

"I've got a lot to learn from him but the last two days have been fun. You have to be very patient to deal with all the distractions and that is where Tiger is so good. His composure is fantastic."

Meanwhile, the Tournament Committee of the European Tour, the players' council who advise on rules and regulations, have made it known they do not want to see women playing in their events again.

Whether the controversial prohibition will be written into the rulebook remains to be seen, however. Each week the sponsor has a handful of their own invitations, which is how Laura Davies played in the ANZ Championship in Australia last month, finishing next to last.