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Dubai - Sergio Garcia made the most of perfect scoring conditions Saturday to finish his second round of the Dubai Desert Classic with a five-under-par 67 and claim a three-shot lead.
The Spaniard, who led after the first round with a sparkling 65, was one-under after five holes when play was suspended on Friday because of high winds that pulled down trees and were deemed dangerous to players and spectators.
But he returned early Saturday to Emirates Golf Club with intent and started with three straight birdies on his way to 12-under-par 132 at the halfway stage.
Another Spaniard, Nacho Elvira, was in second place at 135 following a round of 68 which included a bogey on the ninth, his finishing hole.
South Africa's George Coetzee made a double-bogey after losing his ball with a wayward tee shot on the tricky ninth hole to finish on 136, tied for third place with 2007 champion Henrik Stenson (68).
The cut came at one-over-par 145, with the third round starting at 12:10 pm (0810 GMT).
The European Tour tournament suffered a double blow on Friday when former number one Tiger Woods pulled out with a back spasm and then high winds saw play called off for the day.
Leaderboard:
132 - Sergio Garcia (ESP) 65-67
135 - Nacho Elvira (ESP) 67-68
136 - Henrik Stenson (SWE) 68-68, George Coetzee (RSA) 66-70
137 - Chris Paisley (ENG) 71-66, Peter Uihlein (USA) 69-68, Prom Meesawat (THA) 69-68
138 - Ian Poulter (ENG) 67-71, Matthew Southgate (ENG) 72-66
