There was scant cause for celebration among the European contingent at the US PGA at Oak Hill today with most well off the pace set by overnight leaders Phil Mickelson and Rod Pampling.
Mickelson and Pampling, both round in four under par 66s yesterday, saw their overnight lead increase from one to two when Billy Andrade bogeyed the short 15th, his sixth, and after three-and-a-half hours' play today only seven players were under par. No Europeans were among them.
Joint best overnight were Padraig Harrington, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia at two over, but Harrington dropped strokes on the 12th and 18th to stand four over with seven to play, while Poulter bogeyed the sixth and double-bogeyed the 428-yard eighth to be five over and Garcia dropped four strokes in a back nine 39 and was six over.
Paul McGinley, however, had two birdies and two bogeys in his first seven holes to remain three over, while Greg Owen turned in 34 and then birdied the short 11th to improve to five over.
Darren Clarke, bitterly disappointed with a first day 79, turned at 10 over and had a real battle to survive the cut.
Clarke's mountain to climb became considerably smaller when he birdied the 10th, 12th and 13th and charged - that was the word with most players going backwards - to seven over.
Harrington double-bogeyed the fifth to be six over, Poulter remained five over after 11 and McGinley followed a bogey on the 17th with a double bogey at the next to drop to six over.
Young Australian Aaron Baddeley, joint sixth overnight, was penalised two strokes for missing his tee-off time.
Baddeley thought his start time was 7.35am when it was, in fact, five minutes earlier. He arrived 40 seconds late - and if it had been five minutes he would have been disqualified.
Mickelson and Pampling were among the later starters on a day when the championship in Rochester, New York, continued uninterrupted and largely unaffected by the massive power cuts across north-east America and part of Canada.
By the time they teed off again David Duval was already on his way home to Florida.
Duval, who has gone into a wretched slump since winning the 2001 Open, was bothered by more back trouble and after starting with an 80 he managed only four more holes before retiring.