Gusting winds failed to throw Ross McGowan off course on Friday as the Briton posted a two-over-par 73 in the second round to maintain his lead at the Portuguese Open. Englishman McGowan, seeking a maiden tour success in his second season, held a one-shot advantage on five-under-par 137 over Spain's Carlos Del Moral (71) and fellow-Briton Chris Doak (70). McGowan said his experiences as an amateur was helping his bid to go one better than his second place finish in Perth in February. “I wished I'd had my thermals today, the front nine was particularly brutal,” the 2006 English Amateur champion told reporters. “But the conditions were fairly similar to amateur golf. I'm well prepared for it. You've just got to dig in and take your chances and hope your short-game is on fire.” Like McGowan, the second place pair are also seeking a maiden title. Del Moral is a former teammate of the emerging American talent Anthony Kim on the Oklahoma University golfing squad but has not found similar success as the US Ryder Cup player since leaving college. His fellow European Tour rookie Doak, a self-taught professional, was last year's Scottish Tartan Tour order of merit winner. Both challenged strongly for a time in last week's Andalucia Open before taking 14th and 11th places respectively. Argentine Daniel Vancsik (71), the big-hitting 2007 Madeira Islands Open winner, was two strokes off the lead in joint fourth place after he double bogeyed late in the round.
