European Tour: As Van Morrison's momma was inclined to remind him, there would be days like this. Yesterday, as a combination of wind and rain swept across the Valderrama course to turn the second round into a battle for survival, those competitors pursuing the Volvo Masters title - and the four players still in contention for top spot on the European Tour Order of Merit - were forced to dig deep into their mental fortitude and to use their imagination to manufacture golf shots to keep their dreams alive.

For some reason, Henrik Stenson, who a month ago sank the winning putt for Europe in the Ryder Cup, was immune from the hardship inflicted on the majority of the field. The Swede produced an extraordinary run of five successive birdies from the 13th hole to sign for a best-of-the-day 68 for 138, four-under, to assume the midway lead.

Stenson's endeavours in conditions that he described as "ugly" and "ridiculous" defied belief, as he chipped in twice - on the 13th from 25 yards and the 15th from 30 yards - and took just three putts in those five holes. If it all seemed an easy game for Stenson, not everybody could concur.

In stark contrast, Damien McGrane ran up a quintuple-bogey 10 on the 17th, known as el hoyo del terror, after putting three balls into the water on the infamous par five that also took other victims in Simon Wakefield and Andres Romero, who ran up quadruple bogey nines there.

When conditions turn nasty, few players cope as well as Padraig Harrington. On the eve of the tournament, Paul Casey, the Order of Merit leader, had noted how Harrington never seemed to be fazed on a golf course, regardless of how bad the weather conditions were.

Yesterday, as if to prove the point, Harrington - who started the day in 30th position but finished it sharing ninth place - shot a second round 69 that moved him to 144, level par, that left him four shots adrift of the midway leader Stenson and, critically, put him just three strokes behind second-placed Lee Westwood.

Harrington, the closest pursuer to Casey in the Order of Merit race, could overhaul the English man in the money list if he were to finish first or second here.

Even third place would be sufficient for Harrington to claim the money title, if Casey were to finish outside the top-35.

"Padraig's doing everything he needs to do, he's keeping himself in contention (for the money title). Maybe this is the year for him," remarked Paul McGinley.

Rather than focus on the Order of Merit, however, Harrington's sole aim is to win the tournament. As he explained, "like any week, I have goals and I would be trying to win the tournament here. If I win the tournament, I win the Order of Merit. So I might as well focus on that goal rather than on any other."

In Thursday's first round, Harrington had a poor day with the putter, taking 33 putts. Yesterday, he needed to use the blade just 27 times. But he included two three-putts.

"It was an average day on the greens, I wouldn't say I went berserk or anything like that. I'd say I've had a bad day (on Thursday) and an average day so far, so hopefully I have two good ones left in me."

Harrington finished with an up and down from a greenside bunker for par, in a round that featured five birdies and three bogeys.

That par save had left him upbeat. When he arrived by the 18th green, he saw that an acorn was nestled behind his ball. "I wasn't sure how it was going to come out," he confessed.

The first part of the job for Harrington was to make sure that he found the green, which he did, finishing 10 feet from the hole. Then, he sank the putt.

"To hole that putt makes things a lot better. One shot means a lot in that sort of situation," he said. What it did was to ensure that Harrington heads into the weekend very much in contention for the tournament and, consequently, for the Order of Merit.

Reminded that he had shot two rounds of 67 over the weekend last year, Harrington quipped: "Yep, my wife (Caroline) told me that earlier. I'd pay a lot of money for that. In fact, I'd pay the whole prize fund."

Casey, the money leader, was much improved yesterday. The bug that affected him on Thursday hit a number of other players, including Simon Wakefield, Soren Hansen and David Lynn, as well as some caddies and courtesy car drivers yesterday, and Casey added on a 72 to his opening 76 to reach the midpoint in tied-35th place.

David Howell, birdied his last hole for the second successive day on his way to a 73, for 143, while Robert Karlsson - the fourth player in with a chance of winning the Harry Vardon trophy awarded to the tour's money winner - had a 74 to join Howell on that mark.

While Harrington manoeuvred his way into a position to challenge over the weekend, McGinley, the defending champion, had a three-putt bogey on the last to sign for a 72, putting him on 145, three-over.

"It was a real battle," he contended of his round, adding: "It was a miserable day. But I believe I am still there or thereabouts."

However, it proved to be a frustrating day for Graeme McDowell and somewhat symptomatic of the inconsistency he has shown all season.

Having opened with a 67, McDowell took 11 shots more on his way to a 78 for 145, three over, that dropped him from second down to tied-25th.

As Van The Man's mom could have told him, there'd be days like this.