Clarke and Monty make their move

Darren Clarke and Colin Montgomerie made their move in the Open championship at Muirfield today.

Helped by eagles on the 560-yard fifth - something Nick Faldo also achieved soon afterwards - the Ryder Cup team-mates charged into contention as others struggled in the rain.

Clarke, runner-up at Troon in 1997 and third at Lytham last year, again showed his liking for tough conditions by shaving five shots off his opening 72 to go joint eighth and shared the early clubhouse lead with South African Retief Goosen.

While Justin Rose and Tiger Woods prepared to tee off again at three under and one under respectively, Clarke and Goosen posted three-under halfway totals of 139.

Montgomerie, the halfway leader 12 months ago, was on the same mark and an even better six under for the day with three to play ensured the dark mood following his first round 74 was forgotten in the cheers of the crowd.

None of the leaders were getting away either. With US PGA champion David Toms dropping back from four under to level par, top spot was held at only five under by Swede Carl Pettersson on his Open debut and Australian playing partner Stephen Leaney, who chipped in at the 10th.

Clarke was paired with Toms - joint overnight leader with Pettersson and the late-starting Duffy Waldorf - and it did not take long to discover what a difference a day makes.

The American took two to get out of a fairway bunker at the first and double-bogeyed it, Clarke hit a five-iron to six feet and was off and running.

A 20-footer found the target on the short fourth, then at the next he drilled a beautiful two-iron to 20 feet from 245 yards and, despite a baby crying in the background, made the putt.

Two trips to the rough on the next cost the big Ulsterman a shot, but he saved par from 12 feet at the eighth and almost eagled the ninth as well, his chip from just short of the green lipping out.

After turning in 32 he also birdied the 10th, but a bogey at the 14th cost him a few places.

Clarke could hear the roars for Montgomerie as the seven-time European number one matched him with a birdie at the first and eagle on the fifth.

The Scot birdied rather than bogeyed the sixth, however, and when he too got up and down from just short of the ninth green an outward 31 went on his card.

The inward half began with five pars in a row before he rolled in an 18-footer at the short 16th

Faldo took the lead from the other two, his long-iron approach to the fifth pulling up only three feet from the flag.

He also birdied the sixth and when he made up for a disappointing bogey on the eighth with yet another birdie at the next his front nine 33 elevated the three-time winner - two of them at Muirfield, of course - back to one under.

Pettersson, who could have played last year as European amateur champion but decided to turn professional instead, continued to impress with birdies at the second and fifth before he bogeyed two holes later.

One stroke behind were 1994 winner Nick Price, Dane Soren Hansen, Trinidad’s Stephen Ames and Waldorf, who was not teeing off again until just before 4pm.

Kent’s Roger Chapman was disqualified for signing for a wrong score - a three at the short seventh instead of the fourth he actually took - but he was missing the halfway cut anyway at seven over.

The axe was expected to fall on those at three over and worse and Swede Jesper Parnevik looked to have saved himself with nothing to spare with an eagle-birdie finish.

However, double major winner Vijay Singh was heading away at five over and 1996 champion Tom Lehman needed something Parnevik-like after running up a triple-bogey eight on the long ninth to stand four over.

World number three Phil Mickelson, three under when he started again, instantly double-bogeyed the first like Toms - and hurt his arm in moving his ball only about 15 yards in the thick rough.

He was back to level par with Toms with five to play.