Brett Rumford leads the Qatar MastersPeter Lawrie and Graeme McDowell took advantage of easier second round conditions to move within five strokes of leader Brett Rumford at the halfway stage of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters.

Rumford fired a best of the day 66 to move one stroke ahead of Welshman Bradley Dredge and two ahead of Lee Westwood and Oliver Wilson on nine under par.

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Shane LowryShane Lowry continued his magnificent start to the 2010 season when he opened with a one under par 71 in the Commercialbank Qatar Masters.

The reigning Irish Open champion, who moved up to 90th in the world thanks to his fourth place finish in last week’s Abu Dhabi Championship, birdied the par five 18th in testing conditions to finish the day tied for 15th place with Ulsterman Gareth Maybin.

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Darren Clarke

Darren Clarke failed to hole the putts when it mattered as South African Charl Schwartzel cruised to his second European Tour victory on the trot in the Joburg Open.

Four strokes clear overnight, the 25-year-old followed his one-shot Africa Open win last Sunday with a six-stroke triumph over Clarke and Keith Horne at Royal Johannesburg and Kensington.

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Michael Hoey is Irish golf's human roller coaster. One minute he's soaring high, the next he's hurtling in a death-dive towards the ground. Could 2010 be the year he finally puts his career on some sort of even keel?

Apparently not yet on the evidence of his start in the Africa Open at East London Golf Club in the Eastern Cape, where he birdied three of his last four holes to open with a five under par 68 around the 6,770-yard, par-73 track.

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There are lies and damned statistics but the numbers produced by the European Tour boffins give Padraig Harrington the edge over Rory McIlroy this year.

Yes, McIlroy topped the stroke average and almost won the inaugural Race to Dubai while Harrington floundered in swing tinkering hell for half the season before exploding into life in August.

But if you add together their ranking in the nine Genworth Financial Statistics categories, Harrington finished an average of six places ahead of McIlroy.

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Edoardo Molinari is breathing down Pablo Martin's neck entering the final round of the South African Open Championships at Pearl Valley Golf Estates.

While Martin (72) leads by a shot on 11 under par in his bid for back to back European Tour wins just a month after nearly losing his European Tour card,  Molinari is seeking an amazing fifth victory in his last eight starts.

The 28 year old Italian posted a third round 69 and needs only a top nine finish to move into the world's top 50 for the first time.

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Gary Murphy birdied his last two holes to make the cut by a shot in the South African Open.

The Kilkenny man survived with a shot to spare as Spain's Pablo Martin took the halfway lead to remain on track for back to back European Tour wins.

Martin, the only player to win European Tour titles as an amateur and a professional, won the Alfred Dunhill Championship on Sunday.

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Damien McGrane eagled Leopard Creek's 18th hole for the second day in a row to move into the top 10 in the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

A closing three gave the Kells man a two under par 70 and left him just two shots behind second placed Edoardo Molinari and Ernie Els but still six adrift of a rejuvenated Pablo Martin on seven under par.

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Watch out for Shane Lowry on the European Tour this season.

The 22 year old from Offaly is just three shots off the lead after carding a five under par 67 in the opening round Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek in South Africa - the first event of the 2010 campaign.

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There's nothing like a crisis to concentrate the mind but Gary Murphy has managed to avoid thinking about "the dark side" in the Madrid Masters and made a positive start.

Damien McGrane and Gary Murphy are tied for ninth in the Madrid MastersWith time running out in his bid to save his tour card, the Kilkenny man opened with a five under par 67 at the Centro Nacional de Golf by simply focussing on his game rather than the grim reality of his situation.

"I would be lying it I said I wasn't thinking about stuff off the course," Murphy confessed.

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Times are changing and Ireland’s new boys are finally taking centre stage on the European Tour.

Entering the final round of the Moravia Silesia Open in the Czech Republic, Ulstermen Gareth Maybin (28) and Michael Hoey (30) have high hopes of walking away with the trophy.

As 40 somethings Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley holiday in the sunshine with their children, Hoey and Maybin are making hay.

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Moravian-Silesian Region Coat of Arms

Two things stood out on the opening day of the Moravia Silesia Open presented by ALO Diamonds.

Okay three.

Not only is the tournament name one of the most intriguing we’ve heard in years, the Irish sextet in action had a very mixed day in the Czech Republic and one of them is in big trouble.

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