Marco Penge storms into British Masters lead after marathon 32-hole day

The home favourite carded a 69 in the morning to get into contention and then surged ahead in round two, moving to eight under through 14 holes and 11 under in total.

New Zealand's Daniel Hillier, the 2023 champion, was his nearest challenger, two ahead of South African Shaun Norris and England's Matthew Jordan, who also both still had holes to play.

Spain's Nacho Elvira was also at seven under but yet to start his second round.

Storms resulted in two hours and 11 minutes being lost in the afternoon, taking the total for the week to nine hours and 21 minutes but there was a healthy contingent of hardy fans surrounding a Brabazon Course that was still in excellent condition.

The delays, however, meant that no players had completed their second round, with half the field yet to start theirs.

Penge was a three-time winner last season while also finishing sixth at this event, as he pushed Rory McIlroy all the way in the Race to Dubai and earned dual membership with the PGA TOUR.

But on Wednesday, he described his 2026 season thus far as a "nightmare", after suffering with problems with his ear, neck and nervous system which have led him to play a limited schedule and miss the U.S. Open.

He showed no signs of any discomfort, however, on a day where he played 32 holes carding an eagle, ten birdies and a single bogey.

"I would say this course my kryptonite," he said. "I have always struggled on this course. I struggled off the tee.

"This round was unbelievable. I think I was in the fairway in play on every single shot today, and that was the key in order to hit the pin in a good position and be able to give myself some chances."