Darren Clarke used twin weapons yesterday up the mountains in Switzerland to continue his campaign for to top the European leaderboard tomorrow night.
An incisive five-wood and a trusty putter helped accrue three birdies over the last five holes for a European Masters second round of three-under-par 68.
That was not quite good enough for him to maintain his lead, but now Clarke commands what fellow Ulsterman David Feherty used to refer to as "a good lurking position".
On 10-under-par, Clarke was forced to trade places with the man who trailed him the night before, Sweden's latest Ryder Cup contender Patrik Sjoland. Sjoland burst on to the scene with a victory in the Italian Open earlier in the year after very nearly winning the inaugural Qatar Masters. Now he seems set to follow in the footsteps of Haeggman, Johansson and Parnevik because even if Clarke is to overcome him this weekend it is hardly likely he will let his chance of a major haul of Ryder Cup points get away from him.
On 11-under-par he heads Clarke, Sven Struver, who outdid Clarke's opening foray by shooting 63, and outsider Cristophe Bovet of Switzerland by a stroke. Also lurking a further stroke back, Frenchman Jean Van de Velde and the defending champion Costantino Rocca, seeking a fourth Ryder Cup appearance.
A run of three birdies in the middle of Clarke's opening half kept him top of the leaderboard despite an early bogey. When he erred heading home on what is Crans sur Sierre's revamped front half, his switch the day before to a putter to combat Seve Ballesteros's much-maligned new greens, at least kept him in second place, with a splendid finale.
Clarke said: "I played much better than I did yesterday. That may sound strange after a 64 on the first day, but I missed a lot of chances and it was nice to at last convert a few and finish with three birdies.
"My five-wood was a great help. I've had it in the bag for the last four weeks and hit a lot of shots with it. It's good for the downhill lies and par-fives and it's better to hit a soft five-wood than a two-iron. It's so versatile. And I changed putters yesterday. That helped me in the end. The greens are a bit slower here, so I changed back to my Ping and it made up for the ones I missed yesterday."
Like Clarke, Nick Faldo produced a grandstand finale, going even better by birdieing three of the last four holes. That only ex acerbated his agony. Faldo, looking to get points on the board to avoid the dreaded wild-card next year, missed the cut by one after a 70 for one-under and flew to England to regroup before his next points bid in a fortnight in the Lancome Trophy.
Colin Montgomerie is another lurker but he could be hovering on one leg today at times. Monty cricked the same ankle he turned during the Irish Open on his way to a 66 to be six under.
The tour is a pain all round for Raymond Burns and an early double bogey put paid to his new-found confidence. He missed his seventh successive cut when a 74 took him one over.
David Higgins's chances of retaining his card in a year of woe which has seen him scuttle back and forward between the Challenge Tour are almost zero. He, too, went home after a 74 took him nine-over.
Des Smyth tries again next week in the British Masters, also on an early flight after a 70 left him two-over.
The only other Irishman left is Padraig Harrington. And even he is worried about his pitching. He is only three-under-par after adding a 69 because his wedge shots are letting him down, he maintained.
