Ireland's supporting players took rather special notice of the leaderboards as they battled for halfway survival in the British Open yesterday. But the concern of Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley had to do with the position of their colleague, Darren Clarke, at the top of the leaderboard.

Unfortunately, the only two Irish players to come through Final Qualifying last weekend departed the scene. Gary Murphy did have the satisfaction of doing himself justice by shooting 72 for 156, while Brendan McGovern had a highly commendable 74 for a 158 total.

"I was thrilled for Darren," said Harrington, who shot an admirable 69 for 144, having set off 50 minutes after his compatriot. "What he's done so far is phenomenal. I feel really proud of him and the lift he has given all of us."

After an opening 75 characterised by poor putting, there was a much tidier look to Harrington's second round which contained three birdies and only one bogey. And to prove a good putter doesn't lose the gift overnight, he sank putts of 10 feet and 15 feet for birdies at the second and fifth in an outward 34.

He was still two under on the 11th fairway when he made his only serious misjudgment of the round. Faced with 210 yards to the green and into a fresh breeze, he was stunned to see his two-iron shot bounce through the target. The penalty was the only bogey of his round.

Harrington went on to birdie the difficult 13th, however, where he hit a five-iron approach to 15 feet. And he completed the round with some delightful wedge play, getting up and down to save par at the 15th, 17th and 18th.

His main target now is to try to bridge the 200-point gap to 15th place in the Ryder Cup table and so claim a place in next month's USPGA Championship.

While Harrington had been keeping tabs on Clarke's progress, McGinley's 12.05 tee-time meant he was watching for prospective challengers. "I'm not surprised at Darren's performance - he's been buzzing with confidence since we got here," he said, after a round of 71 for a 147 total.

The Dubliner, who shared the halfway lead with Tom Lehman at Royal Lytham last year, believes his colleague's chances are enhanced by the nature of the challenging group. "There's no Lehman, Woods or Faldo chasing him," he said. "That must be a help."

Standing on the 15th tee, McGinley decided he needed to shoot level par for the last four holes to be sure of qualifying comfortably for the weekend. But his target seemed to be scuppered when he three-putted the 15th for a bogey, missing from no more than 18 inches.

His response, however, was impressive. A wedge third shot to five feet, yielded a birdie at the long 16th, and, having got back on track, he proceeded to par the last two, hitting his approach to 12 feet at the last.

So, the three Irishmen who did so much to enhance our interest in last year's championship at Lytham are cast in the same roles once more. It will be recalled that after a thrilling four days, Clarke was tied 11th, McGinley was tied 14th and Harrington gained a share of 18th place, behind the champion, Tom Lehman.

There is cause to hope for a much better outcome, however, this time around.