Darcy best of frustrated Irish

THE scramble for survival entailed a pressure all of its own perhaps even greater than that experienced by the title pursuers. So it was that the Murphy's Irish Open at Druids Glen contrived, yet again, to leave the home contingent in a state of frustration, if not quite despair.

That elusive Irish winner - not achieved since John O'Leary in 1982 - looks at the midway stage more difficult than ever to accomplish. "Outrageous," opined Padraig Harrington, of his own efforts. However, such self-recrimination was, unfortunately, quite prevalent amongst the nine Irish players, from an initial complement of 29, to survive the halfway cut which fell on four over par 146.

Of the nine, Eamonn Darcy, one under par 146, was the only one to better par. Even so, the Wicklowman suffered the indignity of two fluffed chips in the space of a minute during his second-round 71. It left him with a sense of underachievement, not in the mood to take any.solace from his position as leading Irishman in a tournament over his home course.

"I had to dig deep after that disaster," reflected Darcy, who incurred his triple bogey seven on the third hole, his 12th after starting on the tenth. "That's the easiest hole on the course and it has cost me four strokes in two days. I'm playing so solid that I could be in a very good, challenging position."

That dog-leg 339-yard par won't be recalled with too much fondness by Darcy. He was two under par and travelling along nicely when, from the same distance as he faced in his first round, he opted to hit his wedge approach "a touch harder." The hall took one bounce and bounded over the back of the green, landing beside television scaffolding. However, Darcy had to take his relief drop onto "muck where spectators had been standing" and proceeded to duff two successive chins.

"I had to use all my reserves to get home," he admitted. Indeed, he showed commendable fighting qualities in securing a birdie at the fifth and another, from 15 feet, at the ninth, his closing hole.

Darcy heads nine Irishmen of 68 survivors into the last two rounds, backed up by Harrington and Eoghan O'Connell (143), Ronan Rafferty (144), Darren Clarke, Philip Walton, Paul McGinley and Damien McGrane (145) and Gary Murphy (146). And, perhaps, the most satisfied of the lot were O'Connell and Murphy, both playing on "wild card" invitations, and McGrane, the resident club professional at Wexford Golf Club who last season topped the Irish Region Order of Merit and secured his presence in the field.

But there were some significant casualties too. Raymond Burns battled manfully to a 72 yesterday which still proved two strokes too many, while other tour players to flounder were Des Smyth (also 148), Christy O'Connor Jnr (159) and David Higgins (154). Francis Howley, meanwhile, bogeyed two of the last four holes to miss out by one shot.

So, what now for the Irish survivors? "Well, you never know what's going to happen over the weekend," commented Harrington. Still, it is asking a lot to steamroll through a field which, despite the loss of players like Bernhard Langer and Retief Goosen, contains an immense number of quality players.

Harrington played some "miracle golf" in his round which included a mere 25 putts. In fact, the Dubliner single putted no fewer than 12 greens - an indication of the trouble he found himself in elsewhere on the course. "I chipped and putted my way around, but unfortunately I couldn't chip out of water," he said, referring to the 17th hole where he suffered a double bogey five after hitting a four-iron tee-shot "comfortably into the middle of the water."

"My problems are stemming from my grip, which is just too neutral, too weak," insisted Harrington, before heading off to the practice range in an effort to rectify the situation. "All is not lost yet," he added.

O'Connell, on the same one over par mark, finished his second round 72 with a three putt but was nevertheless happy to make the cut in his first tournament in Europe since last year's European Open. "I'm disappointed not to be under par," confessed O'Connell. "I lost my rhythm on the back nine. I don't know why it certainly wasn't nerves, because I was nervous from the first tee!"

In each of the previous years in which he has made the cut Clarke has found himself part of the dawn brigade on the weekend. "I always seem to scrape in," said Clarke, who shot a second-round 73 for 145. He has marginally avoided such a distinction this time round, but he was disappointed with his game. "You don't expect to be three over par after two rounds. I was very poor. I couldn't get a club right. I was either 30 or 40 feet short or too long and you don't make birdies from that distance," he insisted.

However, there was a hint that Walton had, finally solved his problems on the greens in producing a three under par 69 - the best Irish score of the day - although he decided to stick with his broom handle putter rather than trying out a revolutionary Nick 2000 putter developed by German Jochen Nickel.

"I had 38 putts in the first round and seriously considered making the change," admitted Walton. However, the long putter proved trustworthy on this occasion as he sank four birdies - at the 10th, 11th, 18th and eighth holes - having started at the 10th. However, the sixth hole proved costly when he carved his drive into a fir tree and had to take a penalty drop and, then, failed to reach the green with his recovery.

McGinley was another Irish player to struggle. He shot a second round 73 for 145, but commented: "I've made just two birdies in 36 holes and that tells its own story. Actually, I did well to keep the score together with nothing going in the hole."

Meanwhile, 25-year-old McGrane, who only assumed the position of club professional at Wexford last March, having served his apprenticeship as assistant at Headfort, displayed his ability - and nerve - in producing a birdie-birdie finish, at the eighth and ninth, his final two holes, for a fine 72 (for 145) which assured his presence for the weekend.

And Murphy, who was disqualified some three weeks after last year's tournament when a European Tour official discovered he had signed for a wrong score at one hole, salvaged some recompense when parring his last hole to get in on the limit.

So, the Irish quest to end the drought of home winners in the championship looks set to continue - unless a supreme, even miraculous effort, can he launched over the final two rounds It's unlikely. But, as Harrington proclaimed, "anything can happen."