Darren Clarke ensured there would be a thrilling finale to the European golf season when a scintillating second round 64 swept him into serious contention for the Volvo Masters first prize of £166,000 at Montecastillo yesterday.
Clarke's 11-under-par half-way total of 133, for a share of third place with defending champion Mark McNulty and Jose-Maria Olazabal, put him four shots ahead of Colin Montgomerie and Bernhard Langer, the men ahead of him in the race for the European number one title.
Montgomerie, who has held that position for the last four years, saw red, and plenty of it, when he took a triple bogey eight at the 16th after hitting his second shot into a ploughed field. The furious Scot refused to accept the verdict of three referees - Spain's Julian Zulueta, England's Philip Talbot, and Sweden's Mikael Eriksson - that he had gone beyond the limits of the course, and demanded another opinion from tournament director John Para mor.
He also ruled against Mont gomerie, pointing out that although a boundary fence had fallen flat, and that there should have been more white posts in the vicinity, he was very definitely out of bounds. "I didn't think it was contemplated that anyone would ever go where Colin went," Paramor said, "although he was perfectly entitled to establish the situation. There was not any doubt. In the morning there had been a shoot going on over that ground."
Montgomerie, who had been one of five players, including Clarke, sharing the lead at 11under when he stood on the tee, had already hit a provisional ball into thick grass above a bunker. Now required to play it, he duffed his next stroke, his fifth, into the hazard and then took three more to hole out from the sand.
He also took 40 minutes to compose himself before emerging from the recorder's office after signing for a 71 and an eightunder-par total of 136, the same as Langer.
The German also had his trials and tribulations, for he took two shots in a bunker at the 14th, having needed three putts on the previous green. But Langer, who will need to be at least second to finish top of the money list, if Clarke should win, rebounded with a birdie at the last for a 70.
Clarke's brilliant 64 in a blustery wind was in complete contrast to his desultory form of the opening round. He let fly with an early hat-trick of birdie threes from the fourth, then holed his third six-foot putt at the ninth to turn in 32.
When he holed from 25 feet at the 10th, and got home in two at the long 12th, he was already sixunder with the bit between his teeth. Three putts at the 14th briefly stemmed his charge, but he made up five shots on Montgomerie at the 16th when he struck his seven-iron approach from 168 yards only five inches from the flag for an eagle three.
A birdie from 30 feet at the last gave the Ulsterman the clubhouse lead until stablemate and close friend Lee Westwood, and the fast-improving Patrik Sjoland, edged past him with strong finishes.
Clarke refused to discuss the battle for the Vardon Trophy. "I have to play as well as I can. It is beyond my control. I cannot affect what the others do, so my goal is simply to win," he said. "But now for sure it is going to be a very interesting weekend."
Padraig Harrington shares 11th position with Montgomerie and Langer after a 70 which promised to be better after three birdies in the first 12 holes. But he was short all the way up the hill to the 15th, and missed a birdie chance from barely a yard at the 16th.
