Henrik Stenson carded a second round 65 to take the lead as the Dubai Classic was once again thrown into disarray by the weather.
Morning fog causes another lengthy delay
Sweden's Henrik Stenson carded a second round 65 to take the clubhouse lead as the Dubai Desert Classic was once again thrown into disarray by the weather.
The tournament was already badly behind schedule after two hours and 40 minutes were lost at the start of Thursday's opening round. On Friday another lengthy fog delay meant that more than half the players failed to finish their second rounds. Twenty-four did not even start.
Once the sun finally burnt off the fog after a 200-minute delay, world number seven Stenson completed a first round of 68 to sit three shots adrift of Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy.
The 2007 champion then produced a fine bogey-free seven-under 65 to take the lead at 11-under par 133.
His birdie at the ninth, his last hole, edged him ahead of Australian Richard Green, who had a best-of-the-week 63.
"It was a grinding day," said Qatar Masters runner-up Stenson, who is based in Dubai. "But when I hit bad shots I recovered well and made some good birdies on the good shots so it was a very well-scored round."
Contention
Spain's world number two Sergio Garcia also moved into contention and is lurking two off the pace following a 66.
Asian number one Jeev Milkha Singh signed for a four-under 68, with in-form South African Louis Oosthuizen, Sweden's Robert Karlsson, Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and Frenchman Gregory Havret a shot further back after playing a handful of second-round holes.
It was a bad day though for Ernie Els, who holds the record for the most Desert Classic wins after lifting the trophy in 1994, 2002 and 2005.
After completing a 71 in the morning, the South African played his second round front nine in one under par. But he struggled on the back nine with three bogeys and at level-par for the tournament will have to wait to se if he makes the halfway cut.
For his part, McIlroy dropped a shot at the opener, was only able to complete three holes and faces a long day on Saturday - assuming fog does not once again shorten playing time.
Tournament officials will hope for a prompt start in the morning which should allow the third-round leaders to complete nine holes, before returning on Sunday morning ahead of their final rounds.
But should fog again delay the start, officials will have to decide whether to extend the tournament until Monday or opt to cut the event to 54 holes, depending on the length of any delay.
