Sergio Garcia bounced back from a poor start to shoot a four-under-par 68 in the Canaries Spanish Open second round on Friday and stay on course for his first home national title as a professional. While Garcia flourished, his co-favourite for the title at El Cortijo, Retief Goosen, faded badly and nearly missed the weekend, just making the cut right on the mark.
Goosen now has to regroup quickly to avoid handing his young Spanish rival for this year's European order of merit the chance to make considerable ground on his current top rankings place. Garcia hit out of bounds at his third hole of a blustery morning at El Cortijo but salvaged a bogey and regained his composure to capture five birdies to move to nine-under-par 135 and hold a one-shot lead.
Britain's Greg Owen is the second-placed man after shooting a 69. In contrast to Garcia, he erred late on to deny himself a share of the lead, finding the hazard at the short 17th.
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
