VIRGINIA WATER, England, 28 May 2005 — Ireland’s Paul McGinley came within a stroke of the Wentworth West Course record yesterday to take an early two-shot lead in the BMW Championship second round.

A faultless eight-under-par 64, containing an eagle and six birdies took McGinley to eight-under-par 136.

Ryder Cup team mate Padraig Harrington shot a 68 to make it an Irish one-two on top of the leaderboard, despite hesitating whether to begin his round asuffering his perennial neck problems.

McGinley’s playing-partner Ben Curtis dropped from second place by bogeying the last for a 70 and had to settle for a share of third with New Zealander Michael Campbell (68) and Australia’s Peter Lonard (70).

McGinley was written into golfing history as the man who sank the winning putt in the 2002 Ryder Cup, but the 38-year-old said he was not content to have that achievement listed as his high-point, having won only three times in his 14-year professional career.

“I’ve had two great Ryder Cup experiences in extreme pressure,” he said.

“But my win ratio is not good enough.

“I feel I’m good enough to be playing in the Masters and it hurts that I was 62 in the world at the time and wasn’t in.

“I didn’t even watch the Masters. It hurts that much. It’s the same with the TPC. Top 50 in the world is where it’s at. I made the Ryder Cup but didn’t do enough to make top-50.”

Harrington has sympathy for his compatriot and said McGinley was “much better than his record and should win more often”.

The world number 10, unable to find painkillers for his neck problem, came close to pulling out of Wentworth but discovered, oddly, pain represented gain.

“I tweeked something in my neck but that meant my focus was better, it put a little bit of fight in me,” he said after soldiering on to collect four birdies in his last seven holes.

Harrington’s decision to return to Wentworth after an absence of two years, having found the famous Burma Road not to his liking, paid off.

“It looks like that two-year break has freshened it up for me,” he added.

“The last time here I shot plus-four and missed the cut and it seemed like I’d played well.”

Red-Hot Leonard Sets PGA Tour Pace

In Memphis, Tennessee, Justin Leonard, finding his form after a spell of paternity leave, fired an eight-under 62 Thursday to seize the first-round lead at the $4.9 million St. Jude Classic.

Leonard and his wife, Amanda, celebrated the birth of their second child on March 29, and Leonard took a month off beginning in mid-April. Undecided about when to resume competition, he consulted his wife.

She checked his records and pointed out he had played well in Memphis, so the 33-year-old decided to slot this tournament into his comeback schedule, which included the Byron Nelson and Colonial earlier this month.

That decision looked sound as Leonard, who won the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in January, birdied six of his first nine holes en route to his best round of the season.