Quesne goes one clear

Julien Quesne: holed a lot of important putts

Frenchman Julien Quesne shot a second round 65 to take a one-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre.

Quesne had an up-and-down start to the round but finished with a flourish and four straight birdies took him to the top of the leaderboard.

His round started badly with bogeys at the 10th and 12th but he picked up a shot at 13 and then eagled the long 15th, a hole he took seven at on Thursday.

One more shot went at the 16th but after that Quesne was almost unstoppable as he picked up six birdies, including the key run from the sixth that took him into the lead.

England's Danny Willett sits in second place on his own after a second successive four-under 67 with Gleneagles winner Paul Lawrie moving up to third thanks to an excellent 66.

But it is a very crowded leaderboard after that with the next 23 players only covered by three shots, among them the other Ryder Cup player on show - Peter Hanson, who is on four-under.

The last couple of groups on course were unable to complete their round because of darkness, with the best of them Sam Little - he is four shots off the lead with three holes to play.

Pleasure

"I took a lot of pleasure from how I played today," said Quesne. "I hit so many good shots; I managed to stay calm and I holed a lot of putts.

"My final round in Andalucia was the best of my career, because it was under a lot of pressure.

"But today was probably my second best, because the conditions were very tough and I hardly missed a shot. So I'm very happy."

Willett, who also won for the first time in the BMW International Open in June, wants to experience the winning feeling again too.

"It's all too easy to switch off mentally after a win, because you've got your card for another couple of years," said the Englishman.

"It depends what kind of personality you are really, but I want to taste that winning feeling every week I pitch up.

"It isn't realistic, but that's the goal, and as long as you're in with a decent shout come Sunday, you know you've played well."

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