Colsaerts takes Irish Open lead

SECOND ROUND LEADERBOARD GB & Ire unless stated otherwise -4 N Colsaerts (Bel) -3 I Poulter, C Cevaer (Fra), A Wall -2 R Karlsson (Swe), J Lyle (Aus), T Whitehouse Selected others: -1 P Casey +1 P Harrington, D Clarke +5 C Montgomerie

Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts carded a second-round 67 at the Irish Open on Friday to secure the clubhouse lead.

Thursday's strong winds had a knock-on effect as many players were unable to complete their second rounds.

English duo Ian Poulter (70) and Anthony Wall (68) and France's Christian Cevaer (71) are in a tie for second on three under par.

Weybridge's Paul Casey (70) is one under at Carton House, while Ulster's Darren Clarke (70) is one over.

Colsaerts said: "I actually felt like I left a couple out there because four or five of my putts just shaved the hole.

"So it could have been a truly excellent round but 67 is pretty good because the course is not easy, even though it played a little easier than Thursday."

Denmark's Thomas Bjorn equalled the course record with a 66 and is four off the lead. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie is five over after a 72 and looks likely to miss the cut.

Thursday's gusty conditions, which had led to the suspension of play for six hours, meant players in the second half of the draw were out early Friday to complete their first rounds.

Last week's British Masters winner Johan Edfors led the first round field on three under, followed by England's Iain Pyman, Italy's Ignacio Garrido and Cevaer a shot back.

After a short break the players were back on the course for their second round but only Frenchman Cevaer maintained momentum.

Sweden's Edfors carded a second-round 78 while Garrido returned a 77.