Philip Walton, Eamonn Darcy and Des Smyth all caught a touch of the Ryder Cup fever that swept the Linde German Masters in Berlin yesterday. With Bernhard Langer taking a one stroke halfway lead over Jose Maria Olazabal, and Colin Montgomerie, Thomas Bjorn, and Per-Ulrik Johansson sharing fourth place, the leaderboard after 36 holes has a strong Valderrama flavour.

Smyth, who travelled to southern Spain with his wife and a party of friends to see Europe's victory, rediscovered a forgotten touch on the greens to shoot 67, a rare highlight in a miserable summer that has seen him record 16 failures.

The former Ryder Cup man from Drogheda clipped 10 shots off his first round offering and with a level par halfway position, has given himself a good chance of securing the top-10 placing he needs to be sure of figuring among the top 115 on the circuit next season.

Darcy's 68, in which he had eight birdies, has also ensured he will remain an exempt player, as well as figuring in the top 40 all-time money winners. He currently holds 107th place in the Volvo rankings and can only now improve his position from his share of 10th place after 36 holes.

Walton's 68, to join Darcy in the group at four-under par, only three off the lead, was also a fine effort. It owed a good deal to the confidence he gained last week in tying for first place with Padraig Harrington in the Irish Southern Professional championship on the new links at Portmarnock.

Walton shot 69 there using an orthodox putter, and although he has reverted to his normal longshafted club this week, his work on the greens was much more assured. He had four birdies, the best from 20 feet at the fourth, and did not make a single mistake.

Darren Clarke confessed that he was still "not switched on" in his title defence despite improving to a 69 for a two-under par 142. The Ryder Cup player also had four birdies, but three putts from 20 feet at the short third marred an otherwise immaculate card.

"I am only one under par for the par fives, and for me that is terrible" he said. "Just give me normal success at the long holes, and I would be right in the thick of this tournament." Last year he won with a 24 under par total.

Padraig Harrington and Paul McGinley are also at two under par, although the former expected better than his 70 when he moved three under after 13 holes. However, he lipped out on the next green, missed three good birdie chances on the next three holes, and then saw his 15-foot putt for a par at the 18th again horse-shoe out of the cup.

McGinley did his best work in an outward 34 where he had three birdies to move four under, but struggled on the inward half. He could have done with some of Smyth's marksmanship for the latter had three birdies in the space of five holes from the 13th, culminating in a strike from 12 feet at the 17th.

Earlier Smyth had got down twice from 15 feet, and then from 20 feet to complete a birdie hattrick from the fourth to the seventh. "I am thrilled at pulling something out of the hat," he said.

Langer, who is seeking a 10th victory on home soil this week, looked to have put himself firmly in control when he swept nine under par with one hole remaining. At that stage he was four shots ahead of Colin Montgomerie whom he is trying to overhaul at the head of the money list.

When the Scot drove into a bush, and Langer hit the final fairway, the 345 yards par four ninth, his prospects soared. But the German found his ball in a divot hole that had been repaired with sand, and from there could only flop his recovery into the pond guarding the green.

The normally immaculately behaved Langer slammed his club into the turf in disgust, saying: "Some professionals do not know how to repair the damage they cause. Anywhere else would not be a problem, but it is very difficult to hit a shot from such a lie over water."

He had to settle for a 69 and a seven-under-par total of 137 that restricted his lead over Olazabal (69) and fellow countryman Thomas Goegele, who had a best of the day 65, to just one shot.

Ironically Montgomerie hacked out of the bush, pitched on the green from 90 yards and sank an eight-foot putt for par to sign for a 68. With a lead of £81,000 at the head of the order of merit, even Langer will find it hard to make up significant ground this week.