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Garcia takes the lead
Sergio Garcia
The world number eight today added a 67 to his opening 64 for a 13-under-par total of 131 that was good enough to give him the midday lead in the clubhouse at the Madrid Masters at the Centro Nacional in his home country.
Midway through the day's play, Garcia was two ahead of England's Anthony Wall and fellow Spaniard Manuel Quiros a little known golfer ranked 1,076th in the world who, to no great surprise, found it hard to follow up his "unbelievable" first-round 62.
Quiros was one under for the day with five holes to play at this stage of the day.
Garcia, two behind when he teed off again, mixed two birdies with two bogeys in the first eight but then stepped up the pace around the turn.
The 29-year-old, yet to record a top-three finish in 2009, chipped close on the long 18th - he eagled it yesterday - and then had a hat-trick of birdies from the second before adding another on the 388-yard sixth.
Wall was playing despite four trapped nerves in and around his left shoulder - he suffered it playing for Britain and Ireland at the Vivendi Trophy and missed last week's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
He was round in 67 - while Shane Lowry, the 22-year-old who won the Irish Open as an amateur in May, made a brilliant charge into contention.
Only 64th at the start of the day, Lowry was up to joint fourth with a nine-under 63.
But Oliver Fisher, third after his opening 65, had dropped back to 27th with a 74.
Luke Donald, who led with a round to play at St Andrews on Monday before dropping to seventh, stood four under after a 69 and looked
like making the cut with only one shot at most to spare.
