Casey back in contention

Paul Casey, close to missing the cut with three holes of his second round to play, roared into contention for the French Open at Le Golf National near Paris today.

Casey stood eight over par after 15 holes on Thursday and still was seven over after 33 yesterday.

That was the cut-off mark, but he came up with two birdies to put himself through and this morning had six more in his first 12 holes.

At one under par the Ryder Cup hopeful was suddenly in joint eighth place.

Colin Montgomerie, however, failed to improve his position way down the field, a 73 leaving the 41-year-old Scot nine over par.

He would have taken his day’s work but for a triple-bogey seven on the 443-yard seventh, where he lost a ball in a hazard off the tee.

“A bit of a mess really,” is how he described his playing of the hole.

On Monday Montgomerie is among more than 50 tournament winners in a field of 120 battling for 15 places in next month’s Open at his home course Royal Troon.

“I need to putt better than I am now to qualify,” he said.

The seven-time European number one came into this week ranked 169th in putts per round on the circuit.

His coach Dennis Pugh came out to France to provide assistance, but Montgomerie, not surprised to be struggling at the moment after the break-up of his marriage, commented: “Technical is one thing, mentally it’s another.”

Having teed off at 7.23am he vowed to spend the afternoon practising.

“I suppose I’ve got to and I’ve got more time to do that now and over the years to come it might be beneficial.”

Another Ryder Cup hopeful, Paul McGinley, was on a charge too. The Dubliner, Europe's match-winner two years ago, started the back nine with a spectacular five successive birdies and went to two over.

McGinley jarred his wrist in the thick rough on Thursday, but luckily still carries painkillers following the knee surgery he had in April and was able to continue.