European Open: Colin Montgomerie was remarkably chipper for a man emerging from the recorder's hut following his second round in the Smurfit European Open at the K Club having signed for an 82. It was a sense of humour rather than ire that he used to diffuse any lingering frustration.

The Smurfit course had been assailed by strong winds and squally showers yesterday but those who ventured out in the afternoon suffered higher numbers not just on the course but the Beaufort Scale.

It seems ridiculous to suggest that Montgomerie's 82 deserves a commendation but at one stage he was looking at a figure closer to 90.

Having started his round with a regulation four at the first, he was overwhelmed by the bogey blues, a run that went bogey, bogey, double bogey, bogey, double bogey, bogey, bogey to stand at nine over at eight holes.

To play the final 10 in one over demonstrated character. Six players retired during their round in this tournament to date.

Mind you he's endured worse as he articulated with a smile. "St Mellion springs to mind. St Mellion must have been worse than that. I shot 87 (that day) so I must have at least got 45 on one nine. I'm out of the ball game unfortunately, (I was) making doubles every second hole: never mind.

"I came here playing quite well and I practised well but unfortunately we got the wrong end of the draw, that's for sure. Lee (Westwood) did particularly well to hang on; two 69s were very good. Unfortunately (Jose Maria) Olazabal and I didn't follow suit in any way, shape or form.

"The putting was difficult as the ball was oscillating on the greens. It was very, very difficult out there."

Montgomerie has taken a buffeting on and off the golf course in recent times but with it has come a resolve that he is reluctant to relinquish. He's not despondent. "Oh, god no; not at all. In actual fact to do this for another two days would have been detrimental to Loch Lomond and the (British) Open to be honest.

"I'm not disappointed. I'll go home and rest up over the weekend and travel up to Loch Lomond still full of confidence. I'm actually playing quite well." Recent results suggest only a touch of exaggeration.

It was a particularly apposite three-ball that the Scot found himself in yesterday, drawn alongside Olazabal and Westwood. While the Spaniard shot a superb 71 he missed the cut on six over but Westwood eased himself into third place on six under with a second successive 69.

The Englishman admitted: "I don't really pay attention to whom I'm playing with, to be honest. I get on great with Monty and I know better than anybody what it's like to struggle on the golf course. So I have total sympathy with him and respect for him coming out and sticking at it; doing what he does best."

He smiled: "I was marking Monty's card so I did have to count up what he was doing." Westwood's affinity for this tournament is manifest in successive Smurfit European Open titles in 1999 and 2000 but he ascribed his fondness for the venue to "breakfast in the hotel".

"It's the only common denominator. I don't know, I seem to play well in Ireland. I am relaxed here. I don't mind if the wind blows. I quite like those conditions so I can't put it down to the Guinness or the Murphy's. There is a massive difference in the courses.

"The North (Palmer) is one of my favourites in Europe. This one is a good golf course but in my opinion not a patch on the other one - irrespective of the result this week. The other one over there is a fantastic golf course and a true Irish inland golf course."

Westwood offered an inkling of the prevailing conditions yesterday. "You need to be striking the ball very well to control distance. With the strength of the wind that got up in the afternoon I was hitting a nine iron anything from 104 yards to 175 yards.

"All day I stayed calm and didn't get upset with the conditions. I ground it out and hit a lot of good shots." He remains Retief Goosen's main rival.

Justin Rose and Ian Woosnam - and Ryder Cup hopeful Brian Davis - survived with nothing to spare, which kept alive an outside chance of them taking the British Open championship place on offer to the leading non-exempt player.