Canizares and Vancsik share halfway lead at Madrid Open  MADRID, Spain (AP) -- Alejandro Canizares shot a 6-under 66 Friday to share the lead with Daniel Vancsik after two rounds at the Madrid Open. Canizares, who had one bogey and seven birdies, is tied with Vancsik at 9-under 135, one stroke ahead of Gary Lockerbie (68) in the European Tour event.
"If I win, I owe the trophy to my father," said Canizares, whose father played for Europe in four Ryder Cups. Vancsik (70) recovered from two early bogeys with an eagle at the par-5 10th hole. Francis Valera (67) and Jean Van de Velde (66) were two strokes behind the leaders. Van de Velde salvaged par on the fifth hole after a TV crew pointed him in the direction of his wayward drive. The Frenchman later sank a 3-foot putt after sending his second shot out of the thick rough and onto the fringe. Rory McIlroy, playing alongside Van de Velde, continued to impress in only his third professional start on the European Tour. The Northern Ireland teenager finished with a 68 to move to 3 under, the same as James Kingston (65), who had the day's best round. "I still missed a few chances out there but I'm happy with a 68 and I'm in for the weekend," McIlroy said. "The greens were definitely not as spiked up this morning as they were yesterday afternoon and it was pretty much perfect conditions." McIlroy, who finished third at last week's Dunhill Championship and is already eighth on the 2008 European Ryder Cup points list, opened with two birdies and finished with two more. Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. |
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