came away pleased with his showing, firing a nine-over-par 80 during the second round at the Royal Lytham St. Anne's Golf Club yesterday.

Playing under constant drizzle, combined with strong winds, Jones managed a single birdie through 18 holes and was severely hindered by 10 bogeys at the first four and final six holes.

It was always going to be an uphill battle following his ballooning to an 82 during the opening round. And as it turned out Jones missed the cut-off of 149 by 13 strokes.

"It was a great experience being here,'' said Jones, weary of a day spent plodding around the windswept course. "I played good this week, but had bad luck with bad lies in the huge traps.

"You just can't afford to miss the fairway here with the long grass, because when you get in it you have to chip back onto the fairway and then it's impossible to make par.

"But I've been fortunate to qualify the last two years. I just need to get over the hurdle of making the cut ... I'll definitely be back next year.'' Among those proceeding into the final two rounds were such notables as the legendary Arnold Palmer along with Gary Player of South Africa and Ireland's Christy O'Connor.

Leading the competition is Liam Higgins, also of Ireland, who shot 71 yesterday to go with Thursday's 70 for a two-round total of 141. This gave him a three-stroke advantage over amateur Joel Hirsch, the reigning Bermuda Amateur Match Play champion.

Hirsch fired 71 to add to the previous day's 73.