The pair, who have fond memories of living together at the University of New Mexico, will go head-to-head in the final group in Saturday’s third round, with pacesetter Perez one shot clear of his old college friend.

“I am very pleased the with the second round. I think it was important to keep the hammer down after obviously a 65 in the wind yesterday.

“I think they were definitely the tougher conditions, and it’s one of those days where you hope to stay a couple under.

Perez, who is based in Dundee where his girlfriend is studying, has proved very adept at links golf after his spell living in Scotland.

“I was able to play really well yesterday, and obviously coming out this morning,” said 27-year-old Perez.

“This is the round where you have to try to take as much advantage as you can and put some points on the board.

“Obviously I’m in a very good position for tomorrow,” said the rising star of French golf and the European Tour.

And recalling his time on the New Mexico team, Perez said: “We were roommates in college for four years and we are obviously very close.

“He played very well yesterday and I’m looking forward to playing together. Being on Tour together makes it really easy to catch up.

“He’s a great talent and he has been coming up and a long time so it’s only a matter of time before he breaks through.”

Perez – who claimed the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews back in September, posted his second consecutive round of 65 to move to 10-under par,

Meanwhile Malaysia’s Green carded a round of 67 for a nine-under total at the Royal Greens Golf and Country Club.

Green was looking forward to playing with his old college team-mate.

“Playing with Victor tomorrow, I think it will be fun,” said Green. “It’s just like college days again. We’ve been friends since college and it will be great fun.

“I’m sure we will talk about some stuff. It’s been a couple years. I think played with him probably last year, so it’s been a while. I know he’s been playing really good. Just have fun with him tomorrow.

“I’m excited just to be in the mix. I’ve been there a couple times and just try to put myself in the position a couple more times and see what happens.”

McDowell rolling back the years

FORMER US Open Champion Graeme McDowell, who shared the first round lead with Green, is a shot further back on eight-under.

The 40-year-old, who claimed his sole Major at Pebble Beach 10 years ago, added a round of 68 having been joint leader with Green on six-under, on Thursday.

McDowell said: “It’s always hard to come out right after a good round like I shot yesterday and try and keep the pedal down.

“I felt like I played pretty loose today. It was obviously better conditions this morning.

“I three-putted the 11th – my second hole of the morning – which sort of derailed me a little bit.

“I continued to hit fairways which is key on this golf course. I hit some really quality iron shots.

“I think the back nine in particular is quite difficult on this course,” added McDowell, whose last win on the European Tour came in his successful defence of his French Open title, at Le Paris National, in 2014.

McDowell was not thinking about winning after making a slow start to round two, but is pushing to be in the mix come Sunday.

“It was tough to get going,” GMac added. “A couple of birdies on the front were very pleasing and it was nice to hang in there coming in.

“All in all, very happy the way I hit the ball today and looking forward to being in position going into this weekend.

Defending champion Dustin Johnson signed for a round of 68 and is five shots back in a share of eighth place on five-under.

•For live scoring and to follow the head-to-head between Victor Perez and Gavin Green in the Saudi International, click here.

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Graeme McDowell produced an excellent 64 thanks to three closing birdies in a row to share the first round lead in the Saudi International. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

FORMER US Open champion Graeme McDowell birdied his final three holes to take a share of the lead with Malaysia’s Gavin Green after the opening round of the Saudi International.

The Northern Ireland ace, who holed the winning putt at the 2010 Ryder Cup, also birdied four consecutive holes from the second in a superb six-under par round of 64.

The 40-year-old based in Florida, who grew up playing links golf around Portrush, battled the increasingly windy afternoon conditions at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club, to catch the early leader at the top of the leaderboard.

McDowell, who has nine other European Tour titles, including back-to-back French Opens in 2013 and 2014 – the last time he won this side of the Atlantic – was delighted with his start.

“I got off to a fast start which was huge, before the wind got up,” said McDowell, who was almost upstaged by playing partner Phil Mickelson’s nine birdies.

“It was inevitable out here in the Middle East – Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi is similar – in that you get flat-calm mornings, but you know it’s going to blow in the afternoon.

“It was nice to get out of there with six-under par because I felt like I played great today.

“It would have been a horrible round to let get away,” added McDowell, who has seen Ryder Cup team-mate Lee Westwood become the second most successful player in his 40s on the European Tour, after his win in Abu Dhabi, which also propelled him to the top of the Race to Dubai rankings.

“But to finish birdie, birdie, birdie was nice, just feeding off Phil finishing with seven birdies on the back nine,” added Graeme McDowell, who played with three-time Masters winner Mickelson.

“It was Phil the thrill out there,” said GMac. “It was fun to watch him and fun to play with him.”

Five-time Major winner Mickelson bounced back from a double bogey on the second hole, posting nine birdies and three more bogeys in a characteristically entertaining round of 66.

The American is two shots back in a share of eighth position on four-under par, while compatriot and pre-tournament favourite Dustin Johnson, the defending champion, is a further shot back after opening with a 67 to sit on three-under.

Mickelson, who turns 50 in June, two days before the start of the 2020 US Open, said: “It was a great back nine.

“Part of the challenge for me is that I feel like I’ve been playing well but mentally I haven’t been as sharp.

“I haven’t been visualising and I haven’t been seeing the shot clear,” said the San Diego legend, who has 44 victories on the PGA Tour to his name, only second behing Tiger Woods, among current players across the world.

“It was certainly evident early in the round where I made a couple of shots that weren’t that hard that I made difficult.” added Mickelson.

“But the back nine, things really started to come together. Meaning I hit a lot of good shots.

“I started making the putts, and made a lot of birdies, and it was just a good back nine that gave me a good chance heading into tomorrow.

“I feel like my game is a lot sharper than I’ve been scoring, so it was nice having that back nine.

“Going into tomorrow’s round with hopefully less wind in the morning, I can get off to a good, aggressive start and see if I can continue making birdies.

“I feel like I can,” said Mickelson, who won the 2013 Open at Muirfield, a week after claiming the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart.

Green posted five birdies on the front nine and mixed three birdies with two bogeys after the turn to take the early clubhouse lead with the second wave of starters to come.

Green said: “I played solid. Only a few mistakes here and there, which is pretty normal.

“A couple of pretty big par saves, and a couple of mistakes, a couple of three-putts, which was tough to take in because I was playing well and I was playing solid.

“Just a couple slipped off. You know, it’s the nature of the game,” said 26-year-old Green, who has just one Asian Tour win under his belt.

“You just have to live with it and move on, and that’s what we did. We closed off strong, birdied 16, 17. Had a look at 18.

“Had a nasty little lip-out but it is what it is. I’ll take it, added the 2017 Taiwan Masters winner now in his third full year on the European Tour.

Swedes Stenson and Soderberg’s Saudi shift

SWEDEN’S Henrik Stenson, a Ryder Cup team mate of Graeme McDowell and a fellow Major Champion, is part of a five-way share of third place on five-under par,

Stenson is alongside compatriot Sebastian Soderberg, Spain’s Adri Arnaus, France’s Victor Perez and Venezuela’s PGA Tour winner Jhonattan Vegas.

Stenson said: “I attributed most of it to the putting today. It was still a struggle off the tee at times and the rough is pretty thick.

“I had to scramble well on a couple of holes, but the approach shots that were close I converted into birdies and kept it together nicely, so very pleased with that.”

•To follow live scoring during the second round of the Saudi International, click here.

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FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlory raced up the mountains and the leaderboard with a second round 63 in the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RORY McIlroy produced a blistering finish to day two of the Omega European Masters and sits just one shot off the lead heading into the weekend, at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.

Malaysia’s Gavin Green posted a round of 64 from the very first group of the day to set the target at 11-under par.

And while nobody could catch him, McIlroy whipped the crowds in Crans Montana into a frenzy as he picked up five shots in his last five holes in a second round 63.

McIlroy said: “Going out this afternoon eight shots off the lead, you know there are scores out there, but you don’t want to push too hard. Getting myself much closer to the lead going into the weekend was nice.

“I felt like I swung it a bit better today than yesterday. I hit the driver better, definitely hit better iron shots,” McIlroy added.

“The confidence that gives you throughout the round to take on that pin on 16 for example. If I hadn’t hit the shots I hit previously, I might have gone a bit left of it.

“I’m excited to give myself another chance to win. Would have been easy for me to take my foot off the gas after last week, but I really wanted to come here and play well,” said last week’s winner of the $15million FedEx Cup at East Lake GC, in Georgia.

“Hopefully two more good days of golf left in me, give myself a chance to win this tournament, which I’ve had a great chance to win before. I would love to add this title to the list.”

The Northern Irishman came within a whisker of claiming his maiden European Tour victory in Crans in 2008.

And in his three appearances in the Swiss mountains McIlroy has never finished lower than seventh.

The World No. 2 looked right at home from the moment he teed off eight shots behind Green, who represented Malaysia in the 2016 Rio Olympics, in the second round.

Green, who is looking for his maiden European Tour victory having won 21 times as an amateur, said: “It was just a little bit of misjudgment on the first, and then things got hot.

I played well, hit a lot of greens, made some putts. Just kept the ball rolling. I’m just trying to enjoy it and play as well as I can. That’s all I can ask for.

“The atmosphere and views are amazing. In Malaysia we don’t have anything like this. I’ve been here a couple of times now and the views never get old.

“The altitude is similar to where I went to university in New Mexico, Albuquerque, it’s a few thousand feet too. I’m pretty used to how altitude works. It’s just when it’s cold it gets a little tricky. But adjustments made and it’s been really fun.”

Tommy Fleetwood, the 2017 Race to Dubai winner, is also in the group at 10-under alongside McIlroy, Australia’s Wade Ormsby, Austrian Matthias Schwab and Argentina’s Andres Romero – whose round of 61 was the lowest of the week so far.

Fleetwood said: “I’ve worked on the putting green the last couple of days on my stroke, so it’s just nice to see some roll in.

“I feel like we’ve read them well and not given anything away on the greens, which is a massive key to scoring. Hopefully I can keep that up for a couple of days.

The runner-up at the Open at Royal Portrush added: “Out here you are playing against 156 of the best players in Europe. Every week there will be 10, 20 guys at least playing really well.

“To make the cut these days you’ve got to play really well. And then there’s the guys who are playing really, really well. Seventy-two holes is a long time to keep concentration.

“When you tap in on the first on Thursday morning it’s equally as important as when you finish on Sunday.

“It’s just nice to keep putting myself in positions and hopefully I’ll start winning more. Maybe that will start this week,” said Fleetwood, whose last win came in Abu Dhabi at the start of 2018.

Schwab, looking for his maiden win in Europe, said: “Bogey free after two rounds is great.

“Other than that, I played really well yesterday and I played solid today, not as good – my irons and my long game wasn’t as sharp – but still I didn’t make too many mistakes and I’m happy with where I’m at.

“I worked out a schedule for the last 10 or 11 events which fit me and my game. I was trying to include enough rest time as well,” said Schwab, who has two top fives this season.

“It worked well in Prague, last week I had a nice week at home, and I guess it’s working well again this week.

“I’ve watched Rory on TV growing up, so it’s awesome that he’s up there. But in the end it doesn’t really matter who’s around me or who’s in the lead, I’ll just try to do my best to play good golf.”

Italian Lorenzo Gagli and Hideto Tanihara, from Japan, are two shots further back at eight-under.

The pair are a shot clear of 55-year-old 2010 champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez, his fellow Spaniard Adri Arnaus and another Italian in Renato Paratore.

For live scoring click here.

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Padraig Harrington is back in Malaysia for the Maybank Championship as he continues to recover from a wrist injury. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

PADRAIG Harrington is teeing off his 2019 season in buoyant mood at the Maybank Championship as his recovery from a wrist injury exceeds expectations.

The next European Ryder Cup captain is making his first appearance in the Kuala Lumpur event.

But the two-time Open winner has previously enjoyed success in Malaysia, recording five top eight finishes in the Malaysian Open, including tied sixth on his last outing six years ago.

Those results also include two runner-up spots, with one coming at this week’s venue, Saujana Golf and Country Club, as he finished just behind fellow three-time Major champion Vijay Singh in 2001.

Harrington, who won the Open at Carnoustie in 2007 before becoming one of just seven players since the war to successfully defend the Claret Jug 12 months later – at Royal Birkdale – admitted he is still not fully fit.

Padraig, who did not realise he had broken a bone in a wrist in a slip before Christmas, until it was spotted in early January requiring a splint, said: “I wouldn’t say the wrist is 100 per cent –it might not be 100 per cent for about nine months, or at least another six or seven months. I’m working away at it.

“It’s interesting to come out here. I hit shots on the range here, I hit shots last week and the wrist is holding up, there’s no doubt about it.

“There’s a certain amount of mobility issues and I need to work on the strength of it, but in general it’s right on track. If anything, it’s probably ahead of expectations.

“Traditionally the Malaysian Open was my first event of the season, if you go back 20 years.

“It’s my first event this year and I’m looking forward to that good karma, let’s say.

“It’s a very good set up this year. The changes to the greens have substantially changed the way the course will play.

“The greens are firm. It looks like the changes are excellent, a really, really good challenge.”

Joining the 2008 USPGA Champion in the field is fellow European Tour and Ryder Cup stalwart Miguel Ángel Jiménez, who echoed Harrington’s praise for the recent changes at Saujana.

The flamboyant Spaniard has enjoyed great success in Asia over the years, with his 21 European Tour victories including five Hong Kong Open titles.

The 55-year-old is feeling as competitive as ever as he successfully balances life on the European Tour and the over 50s circuit, capturing his first two senior Major titles last year including the Senior Open on the Staysure Tour.

Jiménez – nicknamed The Mechanic on Tour – said: “There have been a few changes, the first couple of holes are different.

“The greens are all new. The golf course is in very good shape. I feel comfortable here. I like this kind of weather. It’s nice, I feel good.

“Good golf course, good design. I enjoy coming to Malaysia.

“I’m still playing well on both tours. Now I dedicate more than 20 per cent to senior golf.

“But I still like to play on the European Tour too. I play maybe six tournaments a year.

“I still have my category to play, and as long as I have my category I will keep playing. If I didn’t feel competitive I wouldn’t come here.

“When the moment comes that I don’t feel competitive, I won’t come. There is no point coming just to show up.”

The co-sanctioned Maybank Championship is an event much closer to home for Malaysia’s highest ranked player Gavin Green.

The 2017 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner has played in all three previous editions of the tournament and is relishing the prospect of chasing a first European Tour title, and his second on the Asian Tour, in front of a home crowd.

Green said: “It’s such a big one for me. I love playing in front of a home crowd.

“Maybank have helped me and been with me through the years. It would be really good to play well and finish as high as I can.

“I feel good, I’ve been playing well the last few weeks. I’ve just had a couple of hiccups here and there that disrupted the whole game, but it’s been good so far.

“I got my coach down for a couple of days and worked with him, trying to get ready for this event.”

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