While Ernie Els was counting his blessings at Hope Island yesterday, Fred Couples was cursing his misfortune. South African Els began the second round of the Johnnie Walker Classic two strokes behind American Couples. But by the halfway stage it was world number four Els who had stolen a significant march on sixth-ranked Couples . . . thanks in no small measure to the luck of the draw. A late starter in Thursday's opening round, Els went out early yesterday, while it was a case of vice-versa for Couples. And by his own admission, it was former US Open champion Els who benefitted. 'It's a big advantage going out here in the morning because the greens are smoother and the wind is not so strong,' he said. Never was that better illustrated than yesterday when mild morning conditions turned into swirling, blustery winds which resulted in scores soaring in the afternoon. With the help of a 45-foot eagle putt at the par-five 17th, Els carded a four-under-par 68.

His two-round aggregate of 138 puts him in joint second place with Australian Peter Lonard. They are two strokes off the pace being set by New Zealander Michael Long, another early riser, who finished with an eagle-birdie flourish for his second successive 68. For the first eight holes of his round, Couples looked set to join Els among the front-runners. But even the normally unflappable Couples came a cropper at the 563-yard ninth as the winds picked up. There, at a hole where Els was three-under, he found the huge lake that borders the left side of the fairway and ran up a damaging triple-bogey eight that saw him tumble down the leaderboard. But the 1995 Classic champion stuck gamely to his task, ending with a 76 that leaves him tied for 27th, eight strokes off the lead, but certainly not out of contention.

Of the other big-name drawcards, England's Nick Faldo on 142, Scot Colin Montgomerie (145), German Bernhard Langer (145) and defending champion Ian Woosnam of Wales (144) all cashed in on morning starts to ensure their participation at the weekend. Going into today's penultimate round, the only two Asians in red figures are Filipino Felix Casas and Malaysian Ali Kadir, both at one-under 143. Like Couples, China's Zhang Lianwei had the worst of the conditions to contend with. Once again, though, he acquitted himself well, firing a respectable 75. Zhang is tied for 27th on even par 144.