BY the time the speculation about where the cut would fall began to gather any real momentum, the question was already entirely academic for the majority of the Irish entry at the K Club yesterday. Those who made it through to compete for the money were outnumbered by local men who found the combination of a tricky course and trickier conditions a little too much to cope with.

A disastrous showing on the front nine by Francis Howley in which he dropped seven strokes and parred just three holes scuppered his survival chances and four shots surrendered over the last three holes did for John McHenry. Des Smyth, who announced afterwards that he was withdrawing from next week's German Masters, scored nine bogeys and one birdie on the way to a seven over 151 total.

For the likes of Eoghan O'Connell, Stephen Hamill and Lagan View's Damian Mooney, mean while, there were too many strokes squandered to worry about exactly where they had lost their chance.

One man making certain of his place in the closing rounds, however, was Raymond Burns of the host club whose 69 yesterday moved him to within striking distance of the overall leaders although one would not have thought so to look at him afterwards.

"I played better yesterday but today I made a couple of putts," he said afterwards, displaying the demeanour of a man who was determined to make a bolt for the locker room at the first available opportunity. "But I played solidly through the front nine and the last few holes and I'm glad to be still here for the weekend."

Burns's only poor spell in an otherwise fine round came at the 11th and 12th. At the former, he chose the wrong club, sending a four iron well over the green and at the next he hit a tee shot short to the right from where he was fortunate to escape with a single shot dropped.

He pulled one back at the 13th, though, and after "tapping it in" from IS feet at 17 he completed the back nine by playing out of a bunker to within two and a half feet of the 18th flag for birdie.

His start had been even better with birdies at the first, seventh and eighth, where he pulled from 12 feet, marred only by a poor three iron shot at the sixth which missed the green and ended up costing him a shot.

Also enjoying a profitable afternoon yesterday was David Higgins from Waterville whose birdie four at the first hole gave an indication of the sort of mood he was in.

He picked up two more strokes, at the fifth and 13th but finished his day with an eventful hat-trick of holes on which be dropped two consecutive strokes before grabbing one back at the 18th to go one under for the tournament.

There he tied with Paul McGinley who, having started brightly on Thursday, slipped back slightly yesterday thanks mainly to his inability to convert on the greens the chances he had done so well to create for himself from the fairways.

"I hit 16 greens for birdie putts today and only got one of them while I dropped shots on both of the ones that I missed," said the Dubliner afterwards. "I played quite well but just couldn't get my putter going which goes to show how quickly things can change in this game because in my first, round I played badly but putted very well."

The 29-year-old started promisingly with three pars and a birdie at the 13th where his second shot landed just short of a greenside bunker from where he got up and down nicely for a four.

At the next, though, he missed a putt to save par after chipping to six feet and after a seemingly endless run of birdie attempts he dropped his other shot of the round at the sixth where he hit a three wood to the edge of the green before three putting.

Last year's leading Irishman at this event, Jimmy Heggarty, also made it safely through this time around with a two under par 70 giving him a 142 total at the half way stage while Darren Clarke defied a bout of the flu to play a second level par round.