Overnight leader Greg McBain ran up a triple-bogey 7 at Deeside's 10th hole yesterday in the second round of the Paul Lawrie Invitational, but the 2012 winner still holds a one-stroke lead going into today's final 18 holes.
McBain had to work much harder to salvage a par 70 for six-under 134 aggregate than he had for his 64 on the opening day. "It was a wee bit wetter out there today, but it was still scoreable, as you can see by the other scores," said the tournament leader.
"I had a bad 10th hole. I hit it into the bunker off the tee. Had a go at reaching the green but hit it into the ditch. After that I played solid, although the rough is very chewy. If you hit it off-line it is really tough to make pars.
"The only real problem was the rough. It is penal when it is dry here, never mind when it is soaking wet, like it was today. I finished level-par for the round, so I will wait and see what happens. I am only leading by a stroke but that doesn't phase me at all as I have been there before."
Things started well for the 30-year-old Aberdonian with birdies at the second, short fifth and eighth. Then came that horrible 7 at the 10th. But McBain's confidence is on a high enough plain to take a blow like that on the chin -and bounce back with a birdie, as he did at the long 13th. A bogey at 18 kept the door open for the pursuing pack, of which the nearest challenger is one of the lesser known Tartan Tour players, Paul Robinson, who shot a 65.
The highlight of the Largs professional's card was an eagle-2 at the ninth, one of three 2s on his card. The others were more conventional, coming at the short 14th and 16th.
Paul Lawrie's elder son, Craig, is one of the six players on 136. Over his home course as an amateur, he has scored 69 and 67, one of his best tournament performances so far since he turned pro.
Round of the day was a 64 by Scottish Professional champion Gareth Wright that represented an 11-stroke improvement on his opening round.
Wright is five off the pace on 139. But another outward half today like the Welshman had yesterday - 31 to the turn, including an eagle 3 at the long sixth - would close a fair chunk of the gap on the leaders.
First prize looks like being a record high for the Paul Lawrie Invitational - in the region of £7500. With that kind of pay cheque at stake, it promises to be quite a shoot-out over the final 18 holes.
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