GOLF: The harsh lessons of recent years wouldn't encourage any European golfer to count chickens before they were to hatch.

Yet, as experience tells us, the longer the drought, the sweeter the water eventually tastes - and yesterday, as the second round of the 88th US PGA championship unfolded, the tantalising prospect of an end to the seven-year barren spell since a European hand last lifted a major title added more than a touch of spice to proceedings here at Medinah Country Club.

Being the final major of the season, and one which will decide the final composition of the US Ryder Cup team for next month's match at The K Club, this championship has more issues than simply determining a winner. To that end, Davis Love, too, brought a little bit of flavour to this exclusive facility in northwestern Chicago, strengthening his claims for a seat on the plane that touches down in Dublin Airport on September 18th.

Love, who had suffered a horrible ending to his first round when incurring a triple bogey six on the penultimate hole, had an equally poor start to his second round with three successive bogeys from the 11th, his second hole.

However, he recovered sufficiently to sign for a 69 that left him on 137, seven-under, and believing that the dual aims of the championship and a Ryder Cup place were within his reach.

"When I first came out on tour, my dad gave me some good advice, never to play for money. I've never thought about, well, 'this is a $100,000 putt' or 'this tournament is worth $1 million' or 'I need to move into the top-10 so I can make more money'. But, I think, this year I started playing for (Ryder Cup) points and it's really been a distraction.

"I've backed myself into a corner, and sometimes you start doing the things you're supposed to be doing a little better when you're backed into a corner," said Love.

Indeed, thoughts of the Ryder Cup were not far away from European or American heads, with only the so-called "international" players able to avoid its all-consuming distractions. Although Australian Geoff Ogilvy had distractions of another type, in being grouped along with Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods in the marquee three-ball. Unfazed, he produced a run of four successive birdies from the fourth (reaching seven-under) to again contend in a major.

As always, though, the real business takes place over the weekend. And, as such, Sweden's Henrik Stenson - who assumed the clubhouse lead on 136, eight under, after a second successive round of 68 - headed into the final two rounds in a position of strength to end the gap since Paul Lawrie's victory in the British Open at Carnoustie in 1999, the last European to win a major.

Not that Stenson was alone in seeking to end the drought. Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia and a charging Jose Maria Olazabal also muscled their way into contention.

Chris Riley, who has experienced a sudden return to the form that brought him Ryder Cup honours in 2004, played alongside Stenson for the first two rounds and was impressed. "He's definitely a great player, a worldclass player. I'm sure he's not going to be afraid to win this thing," said Riley.

Stenson has a number of busy engagements planned for the months ahead. One is his Ryder Cup debut at The K Club, another is his marriage to long-time girlfriend Emma Lofgren in December. The more immediate goal, though, is to attempt to annex the US PGA title, a feat only achieved once by a European golfer, Tommy Armour back in 1930.

No Swedish male has won a major, and knowing the impact that Annika Sorenstam has made in his homeland, Stenson observed: "I really need to get going to catch Annika, huh?"

While Stenson manoeuvred his way to the forefront of the European challenge, there was some strong back-up.

Garcia, who has flattered only to deceive so often in majors dince first bursting onto the scene here as a teenager in the 1999 US PGA, signed for a second round 70, leaving him on 139, five-under.

"I'm in a decent position, no doubt about it," said the Spaniard.

"But this is a major and it is not easy, no matter what people might think. It's always tough."

For the two Irish players in the championship, it was a matter of fighting for their survival into the weekend. Among the later starters, and each starting off on three-over after disappointing first rounds, Graeme McDowell birdied three of the first four holes to get back to level par, while Padraig Harrington picked up a shot on the first, his 10th, and the third, his 12th, to give himself a sniff of making the cut.

Yet again, the biggest galleries followed the grouping of Woods, Mickelson and Ogilvy. Of the three, Ogilvy, the US Open champion, made the most ground with his run of four birdies.

Woods had two birdies and no dropped shots in his opening eight holes (to reach five-under), while Mickelson procured some exceptional par saves to remain three-under, as he started, through eight.