Johansson hits form

Sweden's former Ryder Cup player Per-Ulrik Johansson moved into contention for his first victory in over two years in the Belgacom Open at Royal Zoute here yesterday.

The 32-year-old shot a bogeyfree round of 66 in miserable conditions to move to the top of the leaderboard midway through the delayed second round.

Johansson has not triumphed in Europe since winning twice in 1997 on his way to making the successful Ryder Cup team at Valderrama, where he won two points out of two.

But his superb effort on these rain-soaked links put him in the driving seat at seven under par, one ahead of South Africa's Retief Goosen and Zimbabwe's Tony Johnstone.

"It feels pretty good to be here at seven under. I haven't played for three weeks because I've had a problem with my right hip," Johansson said.

"I've had X-rays, an MRI scan and treatment in Sweden every day for the last few weeks but they can't find anything wrong.

"I think it's maybe just a muscle problem with golf being so onesided. I'll have to train up the rest of the body better.

"I haven't been playing that bad but haven't had any good results except for finishing second in the Benson and Hedges. It tends to be good for two rounds and then not so good on the weekends."

He has not done well enough to earn a start in the Stg£3 million World Championship in Spain in a fortnight, but said: "It clashes with the second qualifier for the US Tour and I want to be there - after nine years of campaigning in Europe I'd like to try something different next year.

"But I would still play over here. The dream situation for me would be to play the early months of the year in America and then three months here."

Goosen, the overnight leader, had a level-par 71 while Johnstone was also six under after six holes of a second round delayed by three hours after heavy rain overnight and yesterday morning.

Meanwhile Dean Robertson's 66 will put a smile on Colin Montgomerie's face. The 29-yearold Paisley man was Scotland's second choice to partner Montgomerie in the World Cup in Kuala Lumpur next month after British Open champion Paul Lawrie pulled out.

The former Walker Cup and Eisenhower Trophy amateur was on course to match Johansson's tworound total until he dropped two strokes coming down the home straight as the rain poured down.

"The weather was terrible and the rain can destroy your rhythm even when you're playing well," said the 29-year-old Italian Open champion.

"It's more about survival and for the last six holes I couldn't get in fast enough. But five under is a great score in these conditions and a good position to be in.

"My game is coming back and I said to my caddie in practice it was almost like deja vu, the weeks leading up to Italy. I can feel it coming back and it's nice to be playing well again.

"This year has been fantastic. It was a massive breakthrough winning - I've moved up a level.

"Now it's important I do myself justice in the World Cup next month with Colin Montgomerie. If I can play to my best and Monty is just his normal self we will have a great sniff at it.

"Scotland haven't won a World Cup in anything! If we could it would be amazing so it's important for my game to be in shape.

"There's a massive amount of pressure on me, pressure I'm putting on myself because I don't want to let anyone down."

Robert Karlsson joined Robertson on 137 after a 68, while Darren Clarke (one under par), Lee Westwood (one over) and John Daly (three over) were left to finish their second rounds this morning.