Jean Van de Velde, back as a winner on the European Tour this year, burst through the field on the third day of the BMW Championship at Wentworth.

While David Howell waited to defend his three-stroke overnight lead at the European tour's flagship event Van de Velde went to the turn in a three-under-par 32 and when he added further birdies on the 11th and 12th he was up into a share of sixth place.

He began the day in joint 42nd place on level par, 11 adrift of Howell.

The Frenchman, who will be 40 on Monday, will forever be remembered, of course, for blowing a chance to win the 1999 Open from three clear with one hole to play.

He suffered serious knee trouble and a marriage break-up after that, lost his tour card for a while, but in March won the Madeira Island Open — even with a double bogey six on the last hole.

Van de Velde, who had not tasted victory since 1993, was certainly doing better than some of the big names.

Reigning US Open champion Michael Campbell had a triple-bogey seven on the 15th to tumble to four-over and playing partner Colin Montgomerie was only two better than that.

Montgomerie, who avoided an eighth missed cut in 10 starts with just one shot to spare at one-over, bogeyed the third and 13th and had his only birdie on the seventh.

Ryder Cup captain Ian Woosnam, in his 500th European Tour event, had a hat-trick of birdies from the fourth, but there were two bogeys before and a double bogey six then followed on the eighth.

When the 48-year-old dropped another shot on the short 10th he was three-over and after birdies at the next two he ran up a double-bogey seven at the 17th.

Ernie Els had yet to make his presence felt on the course he has re-designed and he resumed with three bogeys in the first six holes.

However, the South African had birdied the second and when he picked up further shots on the eighth and ninth he was up to one-under.

Howell's second round of 65 had put him three clear of fellow Englishman Nick Dougherty and four ahead of defending champion Angel Cabrera and Swede Robert Karlsson.

Meanwhile, the one-shot penalty given to Darren Clarke on Thursday for dropping his ball on his ball-marker effectively put him out of the event at the start of the day.

Clarke and Ian Poulter were among those who just missed the halfway cut on three over par when the second round was completed.

Twelve players had been unable to finish last night following a 60-minute rain delay and it needed only one of them to finish at two-over or better for those at three-over to crash out.

With Welshman Garry Houston four-under with four to play and England's Richard Bland one-under with three to go, Clarke, Poulter and the rest knew they required a miracle, but it did not come.

Bland was the one to put them out when he finished first and far from dropping back picked up two birdies for a 68 and three-under total.

Clarke's ball-dropping incident came on the 13th hole of his first round. The marker flipped over when it was hit, and although a referee on the spot told him there was no penalty, chief referee John Paramor imposed the extra shot at the end of the round.