Marcus Fraser sees a chance not to be missed after fog

AUSTRALIA'S Marcus Fraser remained on course for a wire-to-wire victory at the weather-affected Ballantine's Championship after securing a one-shot advantage over defending champion Thongchai Jaidee, Gareth Maybin and Tano Goya heading into today's third and final round.

Fraser dropped his first shot of the week in a patient two-under-par second-round 70 on a bright but windy third day at Pinx Golf Club to top the leaderboard at nine-under-par with one round remaining after first-day fog delays forced officials to cut the tournament to 54 holes.

Belfast's Maybin posted a second consecutive 68 to join overnight clubhouse leaders Thongchai and Goya, who had battled blustery conditions to set the early pace at eight-under-par on Friday.

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And with the equally testing winds also restricting scoring yesterday, Thongchai's second-round 67 and Goya's hard-fought 70 kept the pair firmly in the mix a shot clear of Ernie Els, Ted Oh and Brett Rumford.

Scot David Drysdale shot a second-round 68 to take him onto 140, five shots behind the leader, while his countryman Stephen Gallacher added a 73 to a first-round 71 for a total of 144. Three other Scots – Marc Warren (72, 74), Alastair Forsyth (73, 76), and Peter Whiteford (72, 77) – missed the cut.