British Masters: Darren Clarke fired a second-round 70 to trail leader Paul Casey by three shots at the halfway mark in the Quinn Direct British Masters at The Belfry yesterday.
But doing so well had an unfortunate downside for Clarke. The Liverpool fan had hoped to fly by helicopter after his third round to the FA Cup final - he had a seat in the Royal Box - but there will not be enough time now and he will have to content himself with a television view of the match instead.
One shot further back lies a group of four players which includes Ian Poulter, whose 69 left him with a 36-hole total of 137, seven under par.
As things stand, Casey, Clarke and Poulter are not automatic selections for Ian Woosnam's team, and given the number and quality of players currently in a similar position, they cannot rely on finding the Ryder Cup captain's favour.
Another man who has been soul-searching a little in recent days is Pádraig Harrington, a stalwart of Ryder Cups past who is currently outside the 10 spots reserved for automatic selection.
It hardly need be said that the pressure on Harrington is greater than that currently bearing down on Casey, Clarke and Poulter.
He is the public face of Irish golf, the man on a million television screens telling American viewers to "consider yourself invited".
As Woosnam remarked last week, Harrington better not make any assumptions. If the captain's intention was to motivate the player, he should have saved his energy. Few are as motivated as the 34-year-old, and even fewer are as ready to speak as freely and as often about their failings.
After a first-round 75, he played his way back into contention with a six-under-par 66.
"I came to the conclusion that I was thinking about it too much, rather than just getting out there and playing with some freedom. My father used to ask how I played and I might say 'I shot 67 and played badly', and he would say to me, 'You stop saying that because people will think you're being really arrogant'. He was right.
"I should just be happy with my score and not go on too much about how I played," he said, with usual candour.
There was no such introspection from Casey. None was needed. With 36 holes played he has yet to make a bogey.
"I can't believe it," he said, with uncharacteristic modesty. "I thought I'd be doing well this week to make the cut."
Michael Campbell was paired for the first two rounds with Harrington, and they have a history at The Belfry. Six years ago Harrington was five clear with 18 holes to play on the course when he was disqualified after the discovery his first-round card had been mistakenly signed by Campbell instead of the Dubliner.
"Obviously time heals and we can laugh at it now," said the New Zealander. "On the first tee on Thursday Pádraig said to me 'Michael, here's my card. Do a proper job this time'."
The first day definitely belonged to him with a 67 against 75, but Harrington, who had been five over after 16 holes, came back with a 66 to Campbell's 70 and at three under still entertains hopes of getting the win denied him in 2000.
Graeme McDowell, after a dreadful start to the season in America, celebrated his return to Europe with a hole-in-one at the seventh and improved to six under with a 68 and is five shots back on 138.
David Higgins also made the cut after a 75 left him on 143 but Paul McGinley just missed out on 145 after a 70 as did Damien McGrane (146), Peter Lawrie (147), Philip Walton (147) and Stephen Browne (149).
In a day of surprises Colin Montgomerie, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson, Nick Dougherty and Paul Lawrie were also among those to miss the halfway cut.
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