Jimmy Lytle had his lead in the Bermuda Open Championships cut to one stroke yesterday after Mark Davis mastered the blustery conditions at Port Royal to shoot the day’s best round of four-under 67 and move into contention at the halfway stage.

Playing in the same threesome, Lytle, of the United States, watched Englishman Davis chip away at his lead with some steady golf that produced five birdies on holes 5 and 7 on the front nine and 11, 13 and 17 on the back nine. A bogey five on the 14th was the only blemish and cost him a share of the lead.

Lytle shot a one-over-par 72 to hold on to his lead, finding the windy conditions challenging as he carded bogeys on four of the five par-four holes, though he managed to combine it with three birdies.

The back nine contained a birdie and a bogey as he ended the day four-under after two rounds.

Certainly the stronger winds from Monday’s opening round provided a stern test for all players as only five professionals broke par.

“I’m used to the wind in Florida but this course with the wind is not easy, so it was rough from the beginning,” said Lytle, who started with a bogey on the first hole.

“I had to lay up for my second shot and was 170 yards away in the rough on the hill and hit a pitching wedge to lay up and almost hit the water.

“I then hit that into the back bunker and ended up getting it up and down for bogey which was pretty big for me. [Hole] four was hard and five not really but I made it hard and I didn’t get another hard hole until 11.

“Eleven was really difficult because yesterday I hit a three wood down to the bottom of the hill and had 70 yards in and today I had a good drive and had 170-ish in. Fifteen and 16 were monsters, really hard. I like it like this but sometimes you get the wrong hole at the wrong time. I wouldn’t want to be on 16 when it is gusty.”

Lytle is enjoying his first visit to the Island and is hoping to remain in contention over the final two rounds.

“It’s beautiful, something I’ve never seen before,” Lytle said.

Davis, also in his first visit to Bermuda, played some impressive golf to force his way up the leaderboard, after a first-round 72 left him with some work to do yesterday to jump up eight places.

“He does not know quite what to make of the conditions, calm one day, blustery the next.

“I’ve been here three days now and the first two days it was pretty calm, today obviously the wind got up and it was a totally different course,” Davis said.

“But the course is fantastic, I’ve enjoyed playing it, but it showed its teeth a little bit today and I think it can probably get windier.

“The wind comes from different directions and plays different every day. One of the par 3s yesterday was a three iron and today it was an eight iron. All the par 3s were [challenging], especially 14, 15 and 16.

“I shot four-under so I was very pleased with that. But you know how golf is like, an unpredictable game, and you just have to knuckle down and try your best. I won the Scottish Open last year at Fairmont St Andrews and it was very windy so I can play in the wind. I’m not too bad in the wind.”

Lytle has a two-round score of 138, Davis 139, while another British player, Gordon Brand, moved up to third on 143 after his one-under-par 70. Justin Regier, the defending champion, is also on 143 and another American, James Hazen, on 144 after both shot 70s to move into the top six. Michael Gligic is the leading Canadian on 143.

Americans Nicholas Beddow and Patrick Rada, in early contention after both shooting 66 on the first day, slipped off the pace after rounds of 78 ad 76 respectively.

Michael Sims recovered from his 75 on Monday to post one-under 70 to move into ninth place, seven shots behind the leader on 145. Three other local players, Camiko Smith, Nicholas Jones and Andrew Trott, are bunched together, Smith on 152 and Jones and Trott on 154.

Mark Phillips of Bermuda leads the Amateurs by seven shots after a second round of 74. Another local player, Damian Palanyandi, is on 155 and Joshua Cabrera of Bermuda third on 156 after two rounds of 78.

Results, page 22