DAY TWO LEADERBOARD -19 England -14 Austria -13 South Africa, USA, Sweden, Japan, Spain, Ireland -12 Australia -11 Germany

The Ryder Cup duo had a round of 64 on Friday for a 19-under-par total of 125, five shots better than Austrians Martin Wiegele and Markus Brier.

First-round leaders Ireland had a frustrating day and fell back to joint third following a one-under-par 71.

They are joined by defending champions South Africa, the USA, Sweden, Japan and hosts Spain in an elite chase pack.

The Englishmen were in great form, with Donald's accurate iron play setting up Casey to sink all of the pair's nine birdies.

But their lead would have been even bigger had they not bogeyed the last hole.

"It leaves a bit of a sour taste, but in foursomes you're going to make some mistakes," said Donald.

"There are some great champions in this and winning it would be great on anybody's resume."

Casey apologises for jibe

During the round, Casey was given a taste of what he can expect when he returns to the USA after making comments about "hating" Americans.

The American wife of South African Rory Sabbatini fixed to her T-shirt the message "Stoopid Amerikan".

"Call this my political statement. I saw what Casey said about us and didn't like it, so I printed this," said Amy Sabbatini.

"He saw me and smiled, but then he read what my T-shirt had on it and quit smiling."