Patience the key for Monty

Colin Montgomerie admits he will have to be uncharacteristically patient to mount a staunch defence of his Scandinavian Masters title in Stockholm.

The former European number one could only add a second-round 69 to his opening 70 at Kungsangen, but that was good enough to lie just three shots off the lead held by England’s Warren Bennett.

Bennett was one shot clear of the field on six under after a 70 on Friday, but Montgomerie was one of 27 players within four strokes of the 30-year-old from Kent.

‘‘Rounds of 70, 69 is not very good - but I’m in the top 15 and poised to challenge,’’ said Montgomerie, 39, who is desperate to cling on to his last remaining title.

‘‘If we just keep improving we will be okay. On Friday I played a lot better than Thursday.

‘‘I played the more difficult back nine in two under and the front, which is easy for us, in level par which was a bit disappointing, but I am in there and a good round today will give me a chance of winning this.

‘‘I haven’t won for a year and I need to win. The game has not quite been as good as it was, but you need to get fortunate.

‘‘It’s just a matter of being patient, but that’s a horrible word and I’m not very good at it. I’m three behind and I’ve won from further behind than that.’’

Bennett, who almost quit the game after a bout of pneumonia and a neck injury - the latest in a seemingly endless line of problems - which restricted him to just six starts in 2000, was delighted to be back in contention after a run of six missed cuts in a row earlier in the year.

‘‘It’s great to be in contention again, the same old juices get flowing,’’ said Bennett, who also had to withdraw from England’s World Cup team in Japan late last year with an ankle injury.

‘‘The greens are very severe with the slopes and they have tucked away the pins because the course is short 6,761 yards and that’s its defence.

‘‘But there is a good score out there, I know I have to shoot a decent score on Saturday.’’

Bennett was one-shot ahead of first-round leader Graeme McDowell, Swedish pair Carl Pettersson and Fredrik Andersson, former Ryder Cup player Ignacio Garrido and South African Trevor Immelman.

McDowell was unable to reproduce the first-round fireworks which saw him set a new course record of 64 at the club he has just agreed to represent on the European Tour.

But his round of 73 still left him just one off the lead in only his fourth event as a professional.

‘‘It was difficult to get the right mindset,’’ said the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland, who helped Great Britain and Ireland retain the Walker Cup for the first time last year and was ranked top collegiate golfer in America this season.

‘‘I was being a bit protective even though you shouldn’t be because there was still a long way to go.

‘‘It was a tricky day, the wind was very strong sometimes, but I’m looking forward to the weekend. It’s a very nice position to be in.’’