Lawrie edges one clear
Scot bidding to regain title he won back in 1999
Last Updated: February 4, 2012 2:14pm
Paul Lawrie: leads after a round that included a one-stroke penalty
Former champion Paul Lawrie moved into a one-stroke lead at the Commercialbank Qatar Masters after carding a second round 67.
With just 18 holes of the truncated event to play on Sunday, the Scot will be looking to repeat his success of 13 years ago.
Lawrie was the second winner of the title in 1999 - and followed it by becoming Open champion at Carnoustie that July.
Now, in an event cut to 54 holes because of strong winds, the 43-year-old Scot edged clear of the field after a round that included a one-stroke penalty on the 10th green after he dropped his ball on his marker - for the second week running.
Second round leaderboard
(GB & Ire unless stated)
-8 P Lawrie
-7 N Colsaerts (Bel)
-6 P Hanson (Swe)
-6 R Gonzalez (Arg)
-5 J Kingson (SA)
-5 S Khan
"I'd never done it in my life - 20 years on Tour - but last week in Abu Dhabi I was lucky because my caddie saw it and said the marker never moved," he told Sky Sports.
"This time I wasn't sure and (senior referee) Andy McFee said I had to be 100% sure.
"I wasn't watching and you guys didn't have it on the telecast, so you've got to take the penalty and kick on."
It meant a par five rather than birdie there, but he then picked up shots on the 11th, 16th and long 18th, where he chipped to five feet.
Lawrie leads Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts (68) by a stroke, with Sweden's Peter Hanson (69) and Argentine Ricardo Gonzalez (67) one back.
Incentive
The added incentive on Sunday for Lawrie, currently 78th in the world rankings, is that victory would lift him not only into the 64-man field for the Accenture World Match Play in Arizona later this month, but also back into the game's top 50 and in with a great chance of earning a return to the Masters in April. He last played at Augusta in 2004.
Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano and American John Daly had led the tournament after starting with 66 and 67 respectively, but Fernandez-Castano did not have a single birdie in a 75 that dropped him to three under.
Daly's 73 left him in a nine-way tie for seventh and part of a group which also included Sergio Garcia, England's David Lynn and Anthony Wall and also Lawrie's compatriot Marc Warren.
Lee Westwood has five shots to make up after a 70 and among those on the same three-under mark are Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal and world number four Martin Kaymer.
Round of the day was a 65 from defending champion Thomas Bjorn. It followed a 79, however, and so the Dane still made the cut with only a stroke to spare on level par.
