Paul McGinley was diagnosed with pneumonia earlier this week

Ireland's Paul McGinley has shaken off a recent run of bad luck to move within a stroke of the lead with five holes still to play in his second round at the Doha Golf Club.

McGinley is one shot behind England's David Howell, who is one of only a handful of players to have finished his second round, and Jean-Francois Remesy of France.

Remesy managed to complete 30 holes before darkness brought play to a halt.

A sandstorm on Thursday means that the tournament is behind schedule.

Second-placed McGinley was diagnosed with pneumonia on Monday and was unable to complete the pro-am on Wednesday.

He started Friday by cutting his thumb on a jar of jam but shrugged off the discomfort to move into contention.

LEADERBOARD -6 David Howell (Eng) (36), Jean Francois-Remesy (Fra) (30) -5 Paul McGinley (Ire) (31), Gregory Havret (Fra) (28) (Fra) -4 Richard Green (Aus) (36), Soren Hansen (Den) (32), Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) (27), James Kingston (Rsa) (18), Philip Golding (Eng) (18)

"It wasn't a bad cut, but you would not believe how much blood there was. It must have been an artery," he said.

Overnight leader Howell's reward for finishing his second round is an extra four hours in bed on Saturday.

Remesy and McGinley, who is joint third with another Frenchman, Gregory Havret, have to tee off again at 0630 local time.

Tournament favourite Padraig Harrington was lying joint third after a hat-trick of birdies around the turn in his second round.

But he then carded a double bogey five on the dangerous 224-yard third to fall back into the field.

He will set off again on Saturday morning in a tie for 20th place on one under, five behind Howell and Remesy.

Honda Classic

Notah Begay III continued his challenge with a five-under-par 67 for a share of the lead at Mirasol, Florida.

Begay, who has not won a title since 2000, is at the top of the leaderboard alongside David Peoples on 14 under par.

But the second round was suspended because of darkness with 14 players still on the course.

Davis Love III, the only representative of the world top 10 playing the Country Club course this week, is a shot behind the leading duo alongside Esteban Toledo and Tom Byrum.

First round co-leader Jeff Brehaut is on 12 under with three holes of his second round still to play.

But Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, who followed up his first round 72 with a woeful 75, missed the cut by a country mile.

The seven-time European number one is joined on the sidelines this weekend by several big names including John Daly, Paul Azinger and Chris DiMarco.