AS THE novelist HG Wells once put it, "I want to go ahead of Father Time with a scythe of my own." It would seem Greg Norman, a sprightly recently divorced and then quickly newly wed 53-year-old, is doing just that; except, in the case of the "Great White Shark", the 14 golf clubs in his bag have - thus far - been used to ward off the demons of time.

On yet another compelling day's golf on the sand hills of Royal Birkdale, Norman - a two-time champion whose clubs had been gathering dust in recent years as he concentrated on entrepreneurial activities - relived past glories to contend in the 137th British Open championship, reaching the midway stage a shot behind the 36-hole leader, KJ Choi.

Choi is the son of a Korean rice farmer and had never lifted a club until his mid-teens, when he did so at the suggestion of his school's athletics coach. Yesterday he shot a 67 for 139, one under par, to hold the lead over Norman, with Camilo Villegas of Colombia alone in third, a further stroke back.

Yet, Norman's unexpected challenge was not the only compelling tale. What of David Duval's equally unexpected renaissance? Or the spectacular string of five birdies to finish that propelled Villegas from battling for survival to becoming a contender?

Or, on a breathtaking, heart-thumping day, what of Pádraig Harrington's tigerish tenacity?

A few days ago, it seemed Harrington's title challenge was over before it started. The Dubliner could barely lift, never mind swing, a club after damaging a wrist last Saturday night. Now, almost miraculously, though probably more thanks to physical therapy and anti-inflammatories, Harrington - helped by an eagle-birdie finish - has moved spectacularly into contention.

Yesterday, he shot a 68 for 142 and moved into a group of seven players in tied-fourth that also featured Graeme McDowell.

It was a move achieved with stealth, for there were times - particularly when he had back-to-back bogeys on the 10th and 11th - when it seemed Harrington's round was unravelling.

On the 11th, in fact, he grimaced as he extricated himself from heavy rough. It was to prove nothing more than a momentary expression of pain. "It just gave me a bit of a fright that it would hurt my wrist, and that's why I let go of the club," he later remarked.

The evidence of Harrington's true well-being came later, timed perfectly to bring that focused look from Carnoustie a year ago back to his features.

Although not quite matching the brilliance of Villegas's finish a few hours earlier, when the Colombian had a purple patch of five birdies in a row, the Irishman's run of birdie-par-eagle-birdie from the 15th revitalised his challenge.

The eagle came on the 17th, where a three-wood off the tee carried 282 yards and then bounded on a further 61 yards to leave him 229 yards to the pin.

Harrington's five-iron approach finished pin high, 30 feet away, and he rolled in the eagle putt to invigorate his challenge.

On the 18th, Harrington again used three-wood off the tee and, slightly fortuitous to evade the fairway bunker on the elbow down the right, he made the most of his break with a superb nine-iron approach from 183 yards that nestled five feet behind the hole.

He sank the birdie putt, and the bogey-bogey finish of the previous day had been forgotten. On those two holes, he had made up five shots on his previous day's effort; and his challenge for the Claret Jug was again very much alive.

Of his position, three shots behind the leader, Harrington - who was six shots behind Sergio Garcia at the same juncture a year ago - said: "I'm delighted, I'm well in there with 36 holes to go . . . It's exactly where you want to be. It's unlikely anybody is going to run away with it because the conditions are meant to be tough, so I just want to make sure with nine holes to go I give myself a chance."

The cut, when it fell, came on nine-over - 149 - with Ernie Els, Andres Romero and Lee Westwood among those to survive on the limit, while Phil Mickelson rejuvenated his own challenge with a 68 for 147, an 11-stroke improvement on his first round. Garcia, meanwhile, had a 73 for 145.

Unlike Harrington, who had come to Birkdale with great expectations until his preparations were hampered, but not terminally, by that injury, Norman - who won the event in 1986 and 1993 - had arrived with few expectations.

"My expectations were almost nil coming in," he said. "Honestly, there's probably less pressure on me than anybody here because, even though I'm in the position I'm in, I'm going to go out there and just say, 'hey, just go have fun'."

Norman may intend to have fun, but the weather gods may have other ideas. The forecast is for high winds, which will make today's round an endurance test. It could be a day for fortitude and creative shot-making. You can almost sense Harrington rubbing his hands, if he could. Given Dale Richardson's orders to do nothing to aggravate the wrist injury he may just let his clubs do the talking.