Rare rest for Westwood

Lee Westwood is relishing a rare lie-in on Saturday as he chases his first tournament victory in almost three years.

Westwood added a second-round 68 to his opening 65 for an 11-under-par halfway total of 133 in the BMW International Open in Munich, just four shots behind leader Robert Karlsson of Sweden.

It means the 30-year-old from Worksop will be among the later starters in the third round and could signal an end to the spectacular loss of form which has seen him slump from fourth in the world to 215th.

Westwood has not won since his seven victories worldwide in 2000 which saw him end Colin Montgomerie’s seven-year reign as European number one.

But he began working with renowned coach David Leadbetter in January this year and after painstaking progress, Leadbetter told him at the recent USPGA Championship that his swing “looked as good as it ever has”.

“It’s nice to be in contention again, I haven’t been for quite a while,” said Westwood who did not have a single top-10 finish throughout last year. “I’m looking forward to seeing my name on the leaderboard again and having a lie-on on Saturday for a change.

“It’s my first time at this course but I’ve got Pete Coleman working for me now, who caddied for Bernhard Langer for 22 years, so he’s been here a few times before and knew all the lines.”

Westwood has switched to using a belly-putter, also favoured by Montgomerie, and although he conceded it was one of “about 40 or 50” he had tried, it seemed to be doing the trick as he recorded six birdies and just two bogeys.

Karlsson soared to the top of the leaderboard on the back of two eagles and also chipped in on the seventh for one of his five birdies as he prepared to defend his European Masters title in Switzerland next week.

Karlsson, who also won here in 1997, said: “You always have good feelings when you come back to a course where you have done well before but it’s too early to think about winning again.

“There is a little less rough than last year which suits me perfectly. It’s set up for a long hitter and you have to play the par fives well. I think I’m 10 under for them so far.”

Karlsson leads by two shots from first round leader Raphael Jacquelin of France, who added a 69 to his opening 62 which had equalled the course record at Nord-Eichenried.

Another Swede, Irish Open runner-up Peter Hedblom, was a shot further back alongside England’s Gary Emerson who carded a second-round 68.

Emerson, who kept his card by just £44 at the end of last season, currently lies a lowly 150th on the Order of Merit and needs a good finish to avoid a 10th visit to the qualifying school in November.

“The pressure is on but I know I’m not playing that badly,” said the 39-year-old from Salisbury, whose best finish this season is a tie for 17th in the Irish Open last month.

“It’s in the back of my mind but you try not to think about it too much. I’ve got a friend who has been in intensive care for five weeks so that puts it in perspective.

“I’m delighted with the way I’ve played, I’ve putted a lot better with a new TaylorMade putter this week, not the first new one this year. I’ve not been holing my fair share and it’s such a fine line between success and failure.

“I needed to stay patient after playing the front nine in 29 yesterday and taking 36 today, and I’m pleased I came home in 32 as the weather deteriorated.”

The forecast heavy rain and threat of lightning caused a one-hour suspension of play in mid-afternoon and meant the later starters were unlikely to complete their rounds on schedule this evening.