Goosen leads, Monty makes the cut

Retief Goosen was celebrating at the end of the Barclays Scottish Open second round, after an eight-under-par 63 catapulted him from four behind into a two-stroke lead.

Goosen, now 11 under, missed out on the course record by only one stroke – as he did not need telling because he was the one to achieve it back in 1997.

“I’ve shot 62 around here twice, once with placing (in 2001 en route to taking the title) and once without.

“I do like it here. The golf course is fairly generous off the tee and I’m not one of the straightest hitters.”

The double US Open champion, who rescued his par four on the 10th with a 30-foot putt, has a particular fondness for the 518-yard third hole now.

As on the opening day, he sank a 20-footer for eagle, making him four under there already this week.

Goosen – a winner in Asia, Africa and America in the last nine months, but not in Europe since the 2005 German Masters – has Australian Adam Scott as his closest challenger.

Scott was off at 7.40am, but did not prevent former tennis world number one Ana Ivanovic from being there to support him as he added a 67 to his opening 66.

“All areas of my life are in a good place right now,” said the 28-year-old when asked if it helped to have a partner who was also a professional sports star.

His compatriot Marcus Fraser and German Martin Kaymer, winner of the French Open on Sunday, are three behind in joint third, while Lee Westwood, the player Kaymer beat in a play-off in Paris, was much improved both in his golf as well as his health.

Westwood wished yesterday he had pulled out because of a chest infection, but after a doctor gave him anti-biotics and he slept for 15 hours he returned to knock seven strokes off his opening 73 – and said it could have been even better.

“I’m glad I played now,” he said.“I knocked the flag out all day.”

At three under he was on the same mark as playing partner Rory McIlroy, who called a penalty on himself when his ball moved a fraction after he had addressed it on the eighth.

Even before that the 20-year-old Ulsterman had things go against him at the fourth. His ball finished in a hole at the base of a tree, but although he felt there was evidence of it being caused by a burrowing animal, tournament director Mike Stewart ruled that because he could not play a shot from the position he was not entitled to relief.

McIlroy double-bogeyed there, but eagled the 13th in a level-par 71 as Ian Poulter, the third member of the group, slipped back to one under with a 72.

That looked set to be the cut-off mark, but right at the end of the day’s play those on level par – including Colin Montgomerie, who had birdied his final four holes, and defending champion Graeme McDowell – were let in by Swede Martin Erlandsson finishing bogey, bogey, triple bogey.

First-round leader Richard Green is now five behind following a 72, while Arizona-based Scot Martin Laird, on his European Tour debut, was only two behind prior to bogeying the 14th and 15th.

Meanwhile, for the second week running, Montgomerie ended up making a halfway cut he firmly expected to miss tonight.

Europe’s Ryder Cup captain will now try to force his way into contention in the Barclays Scottish Open just as he did at the French Open last weekend.

Despite making birdies at the last four holes for a second-round 69, Montgomerie assumed his level-par aggregate would see him crashing out of his national championship for the third year running.

But six and a half hours later the 46-year-old’s place in the final two rounds was confirmed when Martin Erlandsson, playing in the last group, lost a ball and triple-bogeyed his final hole.

A birdie there from the Swede would have knocked out not only Montgomerie, but also defending champion Graeme McDowell. Erlandsson was actually two under with three to play, but dropped five shots in the last three.

Montgomerie had been full of doom and gloom after his round.

“I’m not playing very well at all,” he sighed. “My game has gone back to where it’s been for the last one-and-a-half years - disappointing.

“But never mind – we’ll keep going. Turn up next Thursday (the start of the Open at Turnberry) and give it a run – that might be the answer.”