KEY POINTS:
SYDNEY- New Zealand's two top-ranked golfers escaped with minimal damage after a violent Sydney storm threatened to derail their Australian Open hopes here today.
David Smail and Mark Brown were both four-under-par for the tournament after six and eight holes respectively in their second rounds, before organisers suspended
play as the Royal Sydney greens began to resemble swimming pools.
It left the duo 11th equal, seven shots behind little-known Western Australian Stephen Dartnall who enjoyed friendlier morning conditions to shoot 68 to be 11-under after 36 holes.
He led by two strokes from compatriot and new tournament favourite Matthew Goggin, with another shot to Ewan Porter as 78 players wait to resume their second rounds tomorrow at 8.45am (NZT).
Smail and Brown began the day equal fourth after shooting five-under 67s yesterday, just two shots behind the leading trio Dartnall, Goggin and Porter.
Strong winds and heavier rain greeted the afternoon starters, and it only got worse.
Smail found early trouble with a double-bogey six on his second hole when his tee shot hit an advertising hoarding and his chip found a bunker.
He bounced back with a birdie three on the next hole after a nine-iron to three feet, then had three pars in a row before organisers called time.
"I'm pretty happy, there's not too much damage at all," Smail said.
"It was tough, it's horrible out there. The wind was gusting, so that made it tough enough.
"With the rain it's hard to get into a rhythm when you're holding the umbrella all the time, and spending as little time as possible with a club in your hand."
Smail was hopeful of mounting a charge tomorrow in a bid to improve on his best Australian Open finish, a third placing behind Greg Norman and Wayne Grady in 1996.
Vastly different northerly winds and hot temperatures were forecast for tomorrow.
Brown had a solitary blemish in his eight holes, a bogey on the par-four 12th.
He had a chance to birdie the tough par-three 17th but his putt appeared to deviate after hitting a pitch mark.
Earlier, leading New Zealand amateur Danny Lee faded after a rapid start to just scrape past the cut.
After an excellent opening round 68, Lee's compass went awry with his prodigious driver and the putts failed to drop as he signed for a second round 75 to be one-under at the halfway point.
With the cut likely to be even-par or one-over, it meant Lee would maintain his impressive record of making four cuts from five attempts in professional events this year.
Lee had two birdies, three bogeys and a double-bogey on the par-four fourth when his drive and second shot both hit the trees.
"I played all right the first nine then it was the same thing, my driving was really bad and today I didn't putt it very well and the scores just kept rolling out," Lee said.
Lee's compatriot Gareth Paddison also made the cut with an even-par 72 to leave him two-under after he shot 70 on day one.
It meant a welcome payday for Paddison who'd missed the cut in his previous four events in Australia and Europe.
Steve Alker (four-over) and Grant Moorhead (six-over) both missed the cut while Phil Tataurangi faced a nervous wait after an 18th hole bogey left him one-over.
- NZPA
