GOLF:IT'S AS if a magic elixir has, somehow, materialised from somewhere to cure all ills. Not only have Irish players enjoyed an unprecedented run of success on the PGA European Tour this season - with four wins already chalked up - but the feel-good factor has, not before time given the recent trials and tribulations of the tournament, extended to The Irish Open at Adare Manor.
Yesterday provided further evidence of the event's rehabilitation to good health. As the river Maigue glistened in glorious sunshine, and huge galleries brought an atmosphere of old to this idyllic location, the course again proved to be a stern test, with no player advancing beyond the six-under-par markers laid down on Thursday.
And, at day's end, Michael Lorenzo-Vera - a 23-year-old Frenchman in his "rookie" season on tour after claiming his card by winning the Challenge Tour - had taken the halfway lead, shooting a second round 70 for 138, six under, that gave him a one-shot lead over Germany's Marcel Siem with Australian Richard Green and Spain's Pablo Larrazabal a further stroke back in tied-third.
Intriguingly, though, the home challenge, a year on from Pádraig Harrington finally ending the age-old drought, is a strong one.
Of the six Irishmen to survive the cut, which came at three over, four - Darren Clarke (141), Paul McGinley (142), Rory McIlroy (142) and Harrington (143) - are under par and part of the log-jam behind Lorenzo-Vera that is crying out for a weekend charge in the quest for the €416,660 top prize.
Gary Murphy, on 144, and Peter Lawrie, on 146, also made the cut.
Normally only focused on doing his own thing, Harrington admitted, "I think it is important that we have a number of Irish guys there . . . if I don't win this week, I hope another Irish player does." Then, with a laugh that reflected his ease, he added: "I hope that it is an exciting event and that, you know, I beat somebody in a play-off."
On a dry, sunny day threatening thunderstorms that never materialised, the course again asked tough questions. Again, in the main, players found a way to provide answers.
Indeed, Finland's Miko Illonen and Sweden's Jarmo Sandelin, both in danger of missing the cut as they started their second rounds in the afternoon, produced the day's best rounds - 66s - to move below par, into red figures.
Unfortunately for two of Ireland's recent tour winners, such recoveries proved beyond them. Damien McGrane, who picked up his first tour win in the China Open last month, missed out by one stroke after a 72 for 148 that included nine straight pars to finish, while Graeme McDowell - who won his third title, the Ballantines championship, in March - again struggled with technical aspects of his swing en route to a 75 for 149, missing by two shots.
For the Irish in contention, there was a spring in their steps; even if, it seemed, much of the springing would be to either the driving range or the practice putting green to work on niggling little things.
With McIlroy, it was his putting that required a few tweaks. Nothing too major, though.
"I thought Richard Green or Jeev (Milkha Singh) or (Johan) Edfors would have made a move, but I'm not complaining," he said. "I'm closer to the lead now . . . but I felt I should have done better with my putting, so I'm heading to the green to do some drills. I know what I need to do."
In fact, McIlroy's effort - in his first Irish Open as a professional - was a commendable one, given that he had a bogey and a double bogey in his first three holes.
Yet, the 19-year-old from Co Down showed his class and maturity to cover the remaining 15 holes without dropping another shot and collect three birdies from a pile of chances he gave himself.
"If you hit fairways and hit greens, you're not going to be far away because this is not a putting contest like it was last week (in Italy). If you don't hit fairways, you don't hit greens, you're going to struggle," observed McIlroy.
Indeed, for the sextet of Irish players, the weekend promises to be an exciting one.
Like McIlroy, Harrington planned on working on his putter last night - he took 32 putts yesterday in a round of 71 - after allowing frustration on the greens to creep in, highlighted by a three-putt bogey on the 16th.
"I'd love to tell you I was the most disciplined man in the world and could totally blank everything, but I lost my patience and hit an ugly putt on the 14th and another ugly one on the 16th, which is a direct result of not believing the ball is going in the hole," he said.
Ironically, he did nearly hole a 100-footer on the 18th green - prompting flashbacks of his putt to win the Barclays Classic in 2005 - but had to settle for a tap-in birdie. That made him the fourth Irishman in the clubhouse in red figures and in the posse chasing Lorenzo-Vera, a player who won the season-ending Grand Final to top last year's Challenge Tour.
Lorenzo-Vera's best result on tour this season was a tied-second finish behind McGrane in the China Open. On that occasion, he was all of nine shots behind.
Now, he faces into the biggest weekend of his fledgling career in the role of leader. And, with a touch of foreboding, he observed: "You know, so many people play well for the first two rounds and fall away after that. So, I will try to keep the game plan the same."
You can just sense his pursuers licking their chops in anticipation, can't you? However, as he has proven so far in his rookie year, he is a tough young cookie.
