Golf: Goosen steps out in front again

Retief Goosen, who led the US Open from start to finish last month, showed himself to be an accomplished frontrunner again.

Waiting until 3.30pm to resume the Scottish Open at Loch Lomond - a consequence of Thursday's four-hour rain delay - appeared to have no effect on golf's newest major champion.

Already nine under par after his superb opening 62, the South African covered the inward half in 32 and re-established his two-stroke lead.

That advantage had been cancelled out by 20-year-old Australian Adam Scott during the morning, but Goosen calmly birdied the 12th, 13th and 16th to remain on course for the stg£366,660 first prize - a cheque that could give him a stg£500,000 lead at the top of the Order of Merit.

Berkshire's Barry Lane, winner of the title back in 1988 but currently 149 places behind Goosen on the money list, was only a stroke behind Scott until he bogeyed the last for a 65 which put him joint third with Ryder Cup hopeful Paul McGinley and Dane Thomas Bjorn.

Also chasing Goosen hard is the ever-colourful figure of John Daly, who might not have come close to winning since his 1995 Open triumph at St Andrews, but remains one of the game's great characters.

His 136 halfway aggregate was matched by 1997 winner Tom Lehman and by Darren Clarke, who admitted that he thought about pulling out of the stg£2.2million event when the first four hours were lost so that he could concentrate on next week's Open.

Ian Woosnam finished on two over and had to wait to see if that was good enough to qualify, but Westwood's bogey at the seventh left him three over and facing his third missed cut in four starts.

Going much better was Colin Montgomerie, who eagled the third and had a birdie either side to stand five under.