Des Smyth is joint third - four shots off the pace - at the halfway mark in the Madeira Island Open. A second round of two under-par 70 left Smyth in a sevenway tie behind Sweden's Niclas Fasth who fired a nine under-par 63.

England's John Bickerton is alone in second place after a second successive 67 while Seve Ballesteros celebrated making his first halfway cut since September last year after a second round 68 left him on five under.

Paddy Gribben is nine behind after a 71 while Philip Walton, who opened with a five under par 67, slipped down the field after a disappointing three over par 75. Gary Murphy missed the cut by three shots after a 76 left him on 147.

Meanwhile, Fasth was confident of repeating his success of 12 months ago, when he led from start to finish, after a brilliant 63 which included nine birdies and no dropped shots.

"I certainly think I can win again," said the Gothenburg 28-year-old, a former winner of the qualifying school. "I felt that yesterday. Halfway through the round I felt good and thought I am into this now. I was really expecting to do well."

Bickerton was forced to withdraw from the Qatar Masters last week after contracting a stomach virus and gland infection that left him unable to get out of bed.

But after a remarkably quick recovery, the 31-year-old from Droitwich made the trip to Madeira and five birdies yesterday kept him on course to better the two second places he had in 1999 when he finished 20th on the Order of Merit.

Ballesteros was probably grateful to have made the cut for the first time since the European Masters in Switzerland in September having missed 29 in 41 tournaments before this week.

The 43-year-old Spaniard's four under par 68 was also the first time he had broken par since a 69 in the second round in the British Open at St Andrews last year, and his lowest for 16 months since a 68 in the Volvo Masters in 1999.

"I'm happy I shot 68, it's better than what's been happening lately but still my long game is not where it is supposed to be," said the five-time major winner.

The prize for the most up and down round of the day went to Emerson who crammed seven birdies, an eagle at the 11th, a double bogey and two bogeys into his 67. In stark contrast American Hank Kuehne, the former US amateur champion, was seven shots worse at the 11th - running up a 10.

After hitting his drive into the lake on the left of the fairway, his third shot came to rest next to a bush and when he tried to play it, he succeeded only in knocking the ball into the same bush.

Taking a penalty drop for an unplayable lie the ball then rolled back into the bush into where Kuehne proceeded to crawl before smashing the ball out. His seventh shot then found a greenside bunker and after splashing out, two putts all added up to a 10.

Even more amazingly, the 25-year-old from Texas, a college contemporary of Tiger Woods, still made the cut with two birdies in his last three holes to finish one under par after a 76.