Paul McGinley and John McHenry made it double Irish celebrations after yesterday's second round here. While McGinley can begin to believe his game is back on the rails after a 69 left him just four strokes off the pace, McHenry now really can relish the prospects of playing on the European Tour next year.

A blazing start by McGinley, with three opening birdies, carried him on to a fine round of 69 and within reach of surprise leader Ross Drummond of Scotland.

Drummond is five-under-par. The Scot, in the event by invitation, is trying to emulate McHenry and regain his tour card, having lost it last year after 20 years on tour. Lee Westwood and the Australian Stephen Allan are one off the lead, but first round leader Ian Woosnam has slipped back to two-under-par. The defending champion Tom Lehman now lies one-under-par, along with McGinley.

The Dubliner captured six birdies altogether, and was satisfied to drop his share of shots - four of them - as long as they were lost aggressively. He began his round by hitting an eight-iron to five feet, followed up with a brilliant four-iron to just two feet and then lipped out for eagle from 40 feet on the long third.

So McGinley is now back in the reckoning for, of course, not only the £141,660 first prize but with it his British Open place by virtue of claiming one of the five qualifying places on the Royal and Ancient's order of merit for Birkdale.

McHenry still has an outside chance on that score. When European Tour executive director Ken Schofield welcomed him back into the fold this week at Loch Lomond, the Cork man enjoyed the greeting. But he was not taking anything for granted. Not even the tour chief's assumption that the near £54,000 he had earned from his splendid Irish Open performance was enough to bring back McHenry into the fold with a card for next year.

No, McHenry wanted to make sure he did not have a worrying wait to see if it was enough.

So he was determined to make the cut this week to add to his Druids Glen bounty and make totally sure he will have playing rights next year.

Yesterday, after coming back from a double body-blow, McHenry did just that. After a battling level-par 71 to stay at twoover-par, a good weekend to make the top 10 would earn enough money to exempt him from qualifying for the British Open.

"I still have to keep pinching myself," McHenry said. "One minute I'm struggling along in Canada and the next I'm looking at a year on the European Tour. "Making the cut was a big moment for me. I couldn't be absolutely sure I already had enough money for my card, but making the last two rounds here should have done it now. I didn't want to spend the next two or three months worrying." Like McGinley, Padraig Harrington saw his game turn, two birdies coming home and two sandwiched around a worrying early double-bogey did the trick as he also shot 69 to take him to oneover-par.

It was gloom for the rest of the Irish contenders, though. Philip Walton has to pre-qualify for Birkdale after missing the cut by one on six-over-par following a 71, in which he did his best to survive by birdieing two of the last four holes.

Des Smyth was one worse than that after a 74; Raymond Burns was nine-over after 76.

Eamonn Darcy, who had pulled out with a bad back on Wednesday, yesterday withdrew from British Open pre-qualifying as well.