JOHANNESBURG, South Africa -- Local pro Mark Murless shot a 3-under 68 Friday for a one-stroke lead after the second round of the Joburg Open. The event is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and southern Africa's Sunshine Tour.
Murless is at 9-under 133 at the halfway mark, with Spain's Pablo Larrazabal (68) a shot back at the Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club. Murless had two birdies and a bogey, but finished his round with an eagle to stay ahead of Larrazabal.
Seven players shot 65 to share the best round, including South Africa's Warren Abery, who climbed to third, two strokes off the lead. Rookie Tyrone Ferreira, who shared the first-round lead with Murless, had a 70 to tie for third.
South Africans Chris Williams, Dawie Van der Walt and Branden Grace also managed 6-under-par rounds, along with England's Robert Rock and Austrian Florian Praegant.
Murless would have been breathing a sigh of relief after his dose of double fortune before the close. Heading into the final two holes, he was level par for the round before he turned on the magic.
"I hit a crack of a drive (on 18) but left myself with an impossible yardage," explained Murless. "I don't have a club in my bag for that yardage -- I had 230 meters (250 yards) to the flag.
"My 3-iron is never going to get me there and my 3-wood is just too much club," he said. "I ended up hitting a soft 3-wood and put the best swing I could on the shot and it worked out beautifully.
"Last year I also got into the good position in this tournament but didn't pull it off," added Murless, who finished fourth last year. "I just need to try and keep it simple and play this golf course the way it was designed to be played."
It was another rainy day in Johannesburg, but the constant drizzle failed to prevent Darren Clarke from bouncing back after a poor first round as he finished with a 65 to move to 4 under. The Northern Irishman was a lot happier with his form after struggling on the opening day.
"I hit the ball better today and I putted really well," he said. "I didn't hole everything but I sank a lot more six- and seven-footers than yesterday so the round was a lot better."
England's Ross McGowan, who was second after round one, shot a 4-over-par 75 to drop to 1 under for the tournament, the same as South African Airways Open winner James Kingston. Both players just made the level-par cut for the weekend.
Copyright 2008 Associated Press and PA Sport. All rights reserved.
