EUROPEAN TOUR:IRELAND'S SIMON Thornton shot a six-under par round of 66 yesterday to take the lead at the Madeira Islands Open at Porto Santo Golfe.

Thornton heads the leaderboard on seven under, one shot clear of Frenchman Francois Delemontagne.

Thornton carded five birdies and an eagle in an impressive round while England’s Chris Gane, who had led after the first day, could only manage level par yesterday and remains on five under – two shots off the pace in fourth.

Aside from Thornton, Denmark’s Andreas Harto was the biggest mover, going around in five under par to finish fifth, with England’s Jamie Elson sandwiched in between in third.

Three bogeys on the day prevented Elsom from being in the lead himself, as he made seven birdies in an inconsistent round.

Scotland‘s Lloyd Slattery also remains in the picture, despite a disappointing round of one-over.

He is four shots behind Thornton going into tomorrow, but he, fellow Scot Alastair Forsyth and Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey who shot a 68 are both four under and still very much in contention.

Colm Moriarty is tied for ninth on two under following a 70 while Niall Kearney (76) and Gary Murphy (83) both missed the cut.

SENIORS TOUR: Eamonn Darcy leads the Irish charge after the third round of the Open de Espana. A 66 yesterday saw the Wicklow man climb to eight in the leaderboard, nine shots behind England's Carl Mason.

Denis O’Sullivan is on two-over after a 71 yesterday, while Des Smyth is a shot further adrift after a 76.

LET TOUR: A double-bogey on the par-three 16th yesterday ended Rebecca Codd's interest in the German Open. The Carlow woman missed the cut by three shots after a second-round 74.

Martina Gillen also missed the cut, with a birdie on the final hole leaving her one shot off the cut.

The leader after the two rounds is Virginie Lagoutte-Clement, the French woman, on 15-under, is five shots clear of second place.