DAVID HIGGINS is still leading the Irish challenge for the Czech Open at Marianske Lazne, but both Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington followed former tennis star, Ivan Lendl, out of the tournament yesterday.
Higgins, bursting with confidence after his three days at the head of the Austrian Open last week, birdied two of his last three holes to add a par 71 to his opening 68 and be within four shots of the lead.
Just behind is Ryder Cup golfer, Philip Walton, after a second 70 while new Austrian, champion, Paul McGinley, avoided embarrassment with a fighting recovery to get through to the weekend on the exact one over par cut off mark.
The Dubliner is by no means out of the chase for the £125,000 title because the entire field of 70 qualifiers, headed by Peter Mitchell, (65) and Dean Robertson (68) is covered by only eight strokes.
But the departure of the 1996 Irish World Cup representatives was a major shock, not least because of the totally unexpected nature of their collapse.
Both had played their outward section - which here because of logistic reasons began at the par five 11th - competently enough. Clarke was level par for the day when he began his inward eight holes and Harrington was two under.
Between them they then dropped nine shots at the trio of opening par fours.
Clarke had a hat trick of bogeys and Harrington a treble of double bogeys to wreck his outside hopes of playing at the weekend. Then Clarke ran up a six at the seventh after hitting a tree with his approach, putting his third into a bunker, and missing a putt of 12 inches.
He took 40 for his inward half, Harrington 41, and they both finished with 76, Clarke for two over par, and Harrington for 10 over.
"I was going along fine but at the first I went into a bunker and three putted. Then I hit my approach into water at the second and a seven iron out of bounds at the third, said the Spanish Open champion. He hopes to regroup for next week's German Open, the last rehearsal before Ryder Cup qualifying begins with the British Masters at Collingtree.
For a time Clarke looked as though he might survive but a improvement in the afternoon weather put paid to him and also Milltown's Francis Howley who was also at two over despite a brave 70. He had driven the green at the short par four tenth, his last hole, and sunk an eight foot putt for an eagle two, all to no avail.
McGinley was in dire danger of following them when he bogeyed three of the first six holes to slip as many over par. But he pulled himself together after holing from 30 feet to birdie the short eight.
He was unfortunate to clip a tree with his tee shot at the 13th and see his ball go over an out of bounds fence to drop two more shots. But McGinley fought back well to birdie the 14th and 17th and holed from 10 feet for his par at the last after missing the green.
He was pleased with his gritty 72. "I made a lot of clubbing errors and got fooled by the wind a few times," he said. "I had to battle hard and it was a good comeback at the end."
Higgins could say the same after holding from 12 feet at the eighth and 15 feet on his final green, the 10th, to offset the bogeys he had collected at the seventh and 16th. "I have achieved my first target to make the cut," he said. "Now we shall see what I can do this week."
Walton also had to thank a strong finish for his two under position. He put himself in trouble with a six at the sixth and dropped a third shot at the seventh. But birdies at the ninth and 10th and three more in the last four holes left him poised for a weekend charge.
Lendl had a creditable second round 76 despite again driving out of hounds to take seven at the third. Before heading back to the American celebrity Tour be promised Czech fans he would be back again next year.
"I enjoyed the atmosphere," he said. And I did not embarrass myself. It took me quite a while to pluck up courage to come home and play, but hopefully with more experience I will do better next time."
