Hansen fires 65 to defy the conditions

The flags around the tented village told the story of the day. They were at half-mast to honour Sam Snead and they fluttered manically in the gusting wind. An expected storm threatened to disrupt play in the second round of the Volvo PGA Championship and the tricky conditions on the West Course suggested it was circling nearby. Anders Hansen, a 31-year-old Dane, produced the best score of the day with a 65 to top the leaderboard at 11 under par.

Colin Montgomerie, his back perhaps worsening during the day, had maintained his lead by getting to 12 under before dropping three shots in the last four holes. He had already missed a short putt at the 15th when his drive at the next hit a spectator on the head. Jonathan Edom, from Ascot, was briefly unconscious but recovered quickly enough to joke with Montgomerie that he wished he had "nutted the ball back into the fairway".

Instead the ball finished deep in the trees and Montgomerie had to take an unplayable from a bush. The Scot kept the damage down to just another shot dropped but then took a six at the last. Having come out of a greenside bunker to three feet, he appeared to rush over the par-putt and it lipped out.

Montgomerie was still visibly shaken after he had signed his scorecard for a 71. He briefly enquired of his manager how the injured spectator was and was informed Edom had been taken to hospital purely as a precaution. Montgomerie then rushed passed the waiting media and headed straight for the clubhouse.

It was an unfortunate incident and appeared to bring a halt to the momentum that the former European No 1 had carried into the round after his opening 64. He went to the turn in 32 and added a fourth birdie of the day at the 12th. Having chipped in for an eagle from 35 yards on Thursday, he very nearly did the same again. With the two par-five finishing holes to come, Monty would have reasonably expected to increase his advantage.

Hansen ended up with a two-stroke lead over Montgomerie and Eduardo Romero after birdieing the last two holes. "I really love this course," he said. "You have to think your way around and it was very gusty. You really had to trust your shots and trust what your caddie says."

Not having won, Hansen is not the most recognisable face on Tour. In fact, he is often mistaken for the other Danish Hansen on Tour, Soren. "People think we are brothers," said Anders. "We are good friends, we've known each other for years."

Hansen disproved Nick Faldo's theory about the conditions. "It was a day for experience," said the 44-year-old. Faldo had been in danger of missing the cut when he came home in 31 to finish at five under. He made three birdies in a row from the 11th and finished eagle-birdie. At the 17th, he hit a drive and three-iron to 25 feet and holed the putt. Two holes later, after hitting into a fairway bunker, he played a "career four-iron" from the sand on to the green.

"I was honed in," he said. "I was trying to be aggressive on every hole and just see what happened." Having not received a special invitation from the US Golf Association, Faldo is preparing to go to the States to pre-qualify for next month's US Open.

Faldo has never won America's national championship and nor did Snead, the Open champion at St Andrews in 1946. Snead, who died four days short of his 90th birthday on Thursday, won seven major championships with possibly the sweetest swing the game has seen.

"He was a legend, a great man and one of the greatest sportsmen, let alone golfers, in the world," said Faldo. "His swing is probably the swing of all time. There's a picture of him after impact and he's like those baseball players the way he's released through it with his arms and muscles rippling. He was incredibly strong, he had the best tempo and the best pre-shot waggle ever. There'll never be another swing like his with regard to tempo."

Faldo first saw Snead in Kenya in 1979 and a couple of years ago visited him at his base of The Greenbrier in order to work on an instruction story called, "A swing for life". Nick Dougherty, Faldo's young protegé, also went along. "We had an 80-year-old, a 40-year-old and a 20-year-old," Faldo recalled. "Even at 80-plus there were things to learn from Sam's swing."

Ian Woosnam, with an 84, suffered his worst score for 22 years, since an 85 in the Martini International at Wentworth in 1980. It was on the West Course only last October that Woosnam reproduced some vintage form in winning the World Match Play.

His round yesterday was ruined by a constant hook. He twice went out of bounds at the 17th for a triple bogey eight and took a seven at the last. Asked by a scorer for his score, Woosie, sighing, replied: "I don't know, I've lost count."

VOLVO PGA CHAMPIONSHIP (Wentworth): Early third-round scores (GB or Irl undless stated): 133 A Hansen (Den) 68 65. 135 E Romero (Arg) 67 68; C Montgomerie 64 71. 136 C Rodiles (Sp) 69 6; Mark McNulty (Zim) 67 69. 138 M Campbell (NZ) 68 70. 139 S Torrance 71 68; G Turner (NZ) 68 71; J Bickerton 71 68; D Gilford 68 71; A Forsyth 71 68; N Faldo 71 68; P Baker 70 70. 140 R Rafferty 68 72; J Van de Velde (Fr) 71 69; I Garrido (Sp) 69 71; T Bjorn (Den) 71 69; A Coltart 67 73; P O'Malley (Aus) 69 71; J Sandelin (Swe) 69 71. 141 J-M Olazabal (Sp) 68 73; D Clarke 70 71; A Cabrera (Arg) 70 71; N Dougherty 72 70; G Marks 71 70; G Clark 69 72,; M Lafeber (Neth) 71 70. 142 A Marshall 72 70; B Rumford (Aus) 72 70; G Emerson 73 69; T Gillis (US) 68 74; G Havret (Fr) 73 69; B Lane 71 71; N Fasth (Swe) 71 71; L Parsons (Aus) 68 74; P Sjoland (Swe) 71 71; D Borrego (Spa) 68 74; B Davis 72 70; M Lundberg (Swe) 71 71; S Gallacher 71 71; S Bebb 71 71.