EUROPEAN TOUR NEWS:A CLOSING double bogey from Ryder Cup Dane Soren Hansen – the only one on the hole all day – left England's Chris Wood and Australian Scott Strange sharing the halfway lead at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Cologne yesterday.

Wood, the 21-year-old from Bristol who was third in the British Open in July, continued his bid for a first European Tour title with a 69.

For the second day running he kept a bogey off his card – he cannot recall ever doing that on consecutive days in his career – but his round did include a chip-in par at the short eighth and then a holed bunker shot on the 458-yard 14th.

“It was a bit of a battle, but I’ll take another 18 holes without a bogey – and hopefully another 36,” said Wood, who now stands nine under par.

Only two players, Englishman David J Russell and Swede Jesper Parnevik, have ever gone through a tournament without dropping a shot and both of them won.

“As long as I keep putting myself in position a win is going to happen. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later,” Wood said.

“The greens here are up there with the best I’ve ever putted on, but that has got to be some of the tightest flags I’ve ever played to.”

Wood said he would feed off his two majors experiences as he tries for his maiden victory.

“They were two great experiences and things dont come more pressurised than that,” Wood added. “You cant get more pressure than trying to win the (British) Open. Thats only going to help me over the weekend.”

Strange, winner of last year’s Wales Open and this season’s China Open, scored a 68, while Hansen’s 71 dropped him into a tie for third with South African James Kingston and England’s Ross Fisher.

Hansen had not dropped a shot himself over the the first 29 holes and led by three, but he then bogeyed the 12th and 14th to bring the chasing pack back into things.

A birdie on the 523-yard 15th appeared to have settled the 2007 winner down again, but he hooked his drive down the 456-yard 18th into the water and then went over the green for three.

“I struggled with the driver, had a few loose shots and then a really wild one at the last,” he said.

“I also went in the lake at the end of my second round two years ago.”

The difference then, though, was that he scrambled a five rather than a six and still led.

Fisher, with a chance to move up from sixth to third on the European money list and into the world’s top 20, was joint leader with two to play, but pushed his pitch to the 17th into the water and bogeyed.

“Switching drivers today was a big help, but I’m disappointed the way I finished,” he said.

“I was just trying to play a little left of the flag on 17, but it seemed to cut into the breeze and as soon as I saw it going right I knew it was swimming.”

Fisher, who then missed a birdie chance from under six feet on the last, added: “I’ll take the positives from the day. That’s the way it goes sometimes.”

Kingston would have made it a three-way tie at the top but for bogeying the 18th in his 69.

England’s Graeme Storm, Scot David Drysdale and Swede Niclas Fasth are joint sixth on seven under, one ahead of a group which includes world number six Henrik Stenson.

Lee Westwood and Paul Lawrie are five under, and Irish pair Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley are on four under and Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie three under thanks to a 69.

Despite finishing with a bogey five at the last, McGinley’s round of 68 was an improvement of four shots on his opening round.

Clarke has a second successive 70.

Graeme McDowell went round in level par to end the day on two-under par, two shots better than Damien McGrane, who had a second 72.

Shane Lowry’s 72 left him on three-over par overnight, two better than Belfast man Gareth Maybin.

Fellow Northerner Michael Hoey had another bad day at the office and 77 left him on nine over par.