Romero on course to break Tour's age record

Eduardo Romero, who turns 51 on 17 July, has the opportunity to become the oldest winner on the European Tour after a course record 62 in the French Open here yesterday.

The round, which also equalled his lowest-ever score in 352 events on the circuit, took Romero on to the 10-under-par halfway total of 132. Before this week the Argentinian, not wanting to switch to the seniors yet, had played six tournaments, missed the cut in five of them and earned £5,500. He is 248th in the Order of Merit. After crashing out of the BMW Championship a month ago he went back to Cordoba to clear his head.

"My family said, 'why don't you stay in Argentina, just play the senior events?'" he said. "But I said I wanted to play in Europe because I still really enjoy it." Ireland's Des Smyth became the Tour's oldest champion in Madeira in 2001 just after his 48th birthday.

* The new US Open champion, Michael Campbell, has decided to play only one event - next week's European Open - before the Open at St Andrews.