GOLF: As mischievous as some holes at Fota Island can be, with scores ranging from one all the way to eight recorded in yesterday's second round of the Murphy's Irish Open, many players made quite a decent fist of it all.

On another dry day, with the wind picking up as it progressed to make club selection ever more important, Peter O'Malley, an Aussie with some Irish blood in his veins, coped better than most - firing a 67 for nine-under-par 133, to assume the midway lead - but the proximity of his pursuers will stop him totally losing the run of himself.

Indeed, when the cut fell on one-under, with 73 players surviving into the weekend's final two rounds, no less than 46 players were within six strokes of him, and well within striking distance. Of them all, the one that will get more than a backward glance is defending champion Colin Montgomerie, even if the Scot was yesterday reduced to asking a score lady to radio in for a doctor so that he could receive painkillers in an attempt to ease an aching back.

Montgomerie has lost some 30 pounds since winning the title last year, and has undertaken an early-morning fitness regime aimed at strengthening his stomach muscles, but he still needed to stop by the bridge that runs across the fairway on the eighth and put his foot upon it to gain some comfort.

"The back didn't feel good, sometimes it traps itself and I have a big problem," he remarked. But it was not bad enough to prevent him birdieing the hole.

However, on the way up the ninth fairway, Montgomerie asked for a doctor. He was supplied with some strong painkillers, survived to the end and promised that there would be no time spent on the practice range before commencing his third round. "I've got to have 67 shots (in the third round), and that's all I will have. There won't be any more, hopefully," said Montgomerie. "I am in the position that I want to be, one behind the lead, which is great."

He is not alone on that mark. Carl Petterson, winner of the Portugese Open earlier this season, and Alex Cejka were also on eight-under and, a shot further back, in a quartet of players that also included a rejuvenated Lee Westwood, is a player who is relishing the experience. Des Smyth, who turns 50 next February, shot a second-round 68 for 135 to be the best of the six Irish - along with Eamonn Darcy (-5), Padraig Harrington (-3), Philip Walton (-2), Graeme McDowell (-1) and Darren Clarke (-1) - to survive the cut.

Smyth, using an Odyssey Two-Ball broomhandle putter, which has been in his bag for the past four weeks, described his putting as "red hot." Indeed, he has had just 50 putts in two rounds which, when contrasted with someone like Clarke who has had 65, emphasises the old adage of driving for show and putting for dough. "I pitched and putted beautifully all day," remarked Smyth. "It is always difficult to follow up on a good first round. But, if you don't, you have no chance of finishing in the top 10 which is where you are always aiming for. You don't think of winning until you come down the back nine in the final round. In between, you play as well as you can." Apart from using the newly acquired putter, Smyth has also adjusted his stance. "I've put my foot back, just to get a better view of the line. Golf is like that. Every day you try something different."

However, the shot that acted as the catalyst for a finishing flourish wasn't a putt at all. Having started on the 10th, and turned in level par, he chipped in for birdie on the first and then followed with further birdies at the second and fourth.

Darcy, meanwhile, "had to work hard" in shooting his 68 for 137. Playing in his penultimate tournament - next week's European Open will be his last regular tour event before he moves into the Seniors ranks after he celebrates his 50th birthday on August 7th - Darcy found it difficult to play in the cross-wind that came in off the Lee estuary and struggled on the front nine. However, four birdies on the homeward run, including a superb five-iron tee-shot on the 222 yards 17th to two and a half feet, left him in tied-12th heading into the weekend.

"It was nice to get a strong finish," admitted Darcy, "but, to be honest, it is nice for me just to be playing. I'll see what happens over the weekend." While Darcy's expectations may not be the highest, others aren't taking the same easy-going approach.

O'Malley, for one, has great expectations. Having beaten Tiger Woods in the world matchplay at La Costa earlier in the year, and then going on to win a tournament in New Zealand on the last occasion that he was a leader at the midway stage, he set himself a target of securing a tour win before heading for the British Open. "I want to go out there and finish off the job," insisted O'Malley. No-one will need to remind him, however, of the need to watch his back.

Those within striking distance are unlikely to lie down and let him have things all his own way.