• Open de France, Round Two

Siem edges into the lead after weather-affected day

Ian Poulter was unhappy with the course setup © PA Photos

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Germany's Marcel Siem leads the Open de France at the halfway stage by a single shot, following a solid round of 68 on Friday.

Siem reached six-under for the tournament after matching his score on Thursday, after a stop-start day that saw play suspended for a number of hours due to the threat of lightning.

Siem holds a one-shot advantage over Sweden's Alex Noren, who fell out of a share of the lead with a late bogey but nevertheless finished five-under after a second round 67 at Le Golf National.

"If you shoot a few under on the golf course, it doesn't matter what are the conditions, it's a good score," Siem said. "I've shot two times three under now, so I'm very happy and I hope I keep it going like that."

Anders Hansen and George Coetzee are both in the hunt at four-under, while Francesco Molinari shares three-under with David Lynn and home favourite Raphael Jacquelin.

Ian Poulter is one-under after a round of 69 that included a pitch-in from the fairway at one hole, although he complained that the course - which will host the 2018 Ryder Cup - had been made too tough.

"Paris National is a magnificent course, but they have got the set-up completely wrong," Poulter told Sky Sports. "I'm amazed how they have brought in pretty much every fairway. They've made it too tough."

Lee Westwood, meanwhile, dropped five shots in a four-hole stretch to drop well out of contention - although he did bounce back sufficiently to card a round of 73 that leaves him just one-over for the tournament.

Compatriot Justin Rose is a shot worse off after a matching second round score, while Martin Kaymer and Peter Hanson both sneaked inside the cut-line at three-over for the tournament.

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