Scotland’s Scott Jamieson retained the lead on day two of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as Ian Poulter said he was “hanging on for dear life” in windy conditions in Abu Dhabi.

Poulter sits one off the pace on six under after a gutsy level-par 72 on a day when 30mph gusts proved testing.

The 46-year-old told BBC Sport: “It was actually quite enjoyable in a sick kind of way. I just had to hang in there.”

He added: “It was like hanging on for dear life. When you feel the wind as strong as it was you’d have thought the ball would have been moving, but we didn’t have any balls moving on the greens, albeit I had to back off a couple of putts because you were getting blown around.”

Play was suspended because of fading light on Friday with a number of players yet to complete their rounds.

Poulter is alongside Viktor Hovland on six under after the Norwegian player gave two shots away on day two.

Englishman James Morrison is the final player in the tie for second but he has four holes left to complete when play resumes on Saturday.

McIlroy struggles and Lowry simplicity

The wind played havoc at Yas Links, with balls wobbling on the greens and groundsmen called in to use machinery in order to clear away sand that had been blown onto greens at the DP World Tour’s season-opener.

Ireland’s Shane Lowry and Belgium’s Thomas Pieters are among a group of players to have completed their second rounds on five under, along with Sweden’s Alexander Bjork, who drained a 102ft putt during his one-under-par round.

“I don’t love it, I’d prefer if it was calm but I know how to play in those conditions,” said Ireland’s Lowry of the wind.

“Because it’s in the wind I think about it a lot less and I just hit the shots I see and that’s what makes me so good in the wind.”

Only five players in the 131-strong field completed their second rounds under par with Danish player Jeff Winther shooting the lowest of the day with a three-under-par 69.

England’s defending champion Tyrrell Hatton was five over par for his second round – dropping three shots on his final two holes – to slip six shots off the lead.

Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy shot a 75 to sit on three over, with a birdie on the last giving him hope of slipping inside the cut line if it stays at three over when players complete their second rounds.

The world number eight says he would welcome the chance to play over the weekend because he has “no idea” of where his game is at, having started the new season in such blustery conditions.

“It’s sort of hard to know as you are playing shots you haven’t practiced and you’re trying to get through as best you can,” McIlroy told BBC Sport.