Hurley lurking in Portugal; Meadow in contention

Gary Hurley. Picture; Jimmy Penrose 

West Waterford's Gary Hurley is tied for second at halfway in the Challenge Tour's Open de Portugal at Morgado Golf Resort.

He shot a three-under 69 to lie just a shot behind Spain's Adri Arnaus on five-under-par with Ballymena's Dermot McElroy seven behind after a 75.

Late birdies saw Stuart Grehan shoot 71 and Chris Selfridge a 73 to make the two-over cut on the mark but Ardglass' Cormac Sharvin followed his opening 69 with a 78 to miss out by one stroke as Jonny Caldwell (5-over), Conor O’Rourke (9-over) and Jack Hume (10-over) also came up short.  Scores

On the European Tour, Denmark's Lucas Bjerregaard shot 68 and Julien Guerrier a 65 to lead the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open at a wild and windy Verdura Golf Club.

They top the leaderboard by a shot on nine-under from English duo Steven Brown and Ryan Evans but while Derry’s Ruaidhri McGee followed his opening 77 with a level par 71, he missed the three-over cut by three strokes. Scores

On the Symetra Tour, Jordanstown's Stephanie Meadow added a 71 to her opening 73 to share 17th place, just three shots off the lead on level par in the Self Regional Healthcare Foundation Women's Health Classic in South Carolina. Scores