Click here for day one details

DAY TWO STATS AND REVIEW

Euro Players Score Fairways GIR Putts 1 Clarke 69 9 11 29 2 Bjorn 75 9 7 25 3 Harrington 66 11 13 28 4 Fulke 67 10 13 27 5 Westwood 70 11 15 32 6 Montgomerie 70 8 12 29 7 P Price 69 9 11 27 8 McGinley 72 11 11 30 9 Coltart 68 11 13 28 10 Olazabal 74 9 13 35 11 Garcia 72 9 11 30 12 Parnevik 68 13 15 29   Averages: 70.00 10.00 12.08 29.08

USA Players Score Fairways GIR Putts 1 Woods 68 11 15 30 2 Mickelson 72 6 11 29 3 Love III 67 11 13 28 4 Duval 73 8 12 32 5 Calcavecchia 70 7 11 27 6 Hoch 72 10 12 31 7 Cink 72 9 13 32 8 Lehman 72 7 13 32 9 Durant 70 12 14 31 10 Furyk 75 7 12 29 11 Faxon 71 11 11 29 12 Toms 73 6 12 30   Averages: 71.25 8.75 12.42 30.00

SUMMARY

For the second day running the Europeans had the upper hand in most of the statistical categories.

But the most telling statistic of all was that no less than five of the American 12 failed to make it into the weekend.

Only the flu-hit Thomas Bjorn missed the cut on the European side so, with the Americans failing to respond when the pressure was on, we once again question whether they should be big odds on to win the Ryder Cup.

In a repeat of Thursday's statistics, the European 12 scored lower, hit more fairways and holed more putts while the Americans found more greens in regulation.

Both sides improved their overall scoring but once again the Euro stars averaged over a shot better - 70 compared to 71.25.

Both teams were also slightly more accurate, the Euros lifting their average to exactly 10 fairways out of 14 while the Americans trailed with 8.75.

And the Americans showed little improvement on the greens, averaging 30 putts between them as opposed to 30.08 on Thursday.

And even though the US 12 hit more greens, the Europeans were much improved in this category and ran them close. The US just had the edge, 12.42 to 12.08.

As the leaderboard proves, the Europeans have proved top dogs for the second day running.

EUROPE

Colin Montgomerie (70): Another good day for Monty who still leads the way by one shot at seven under par. Unsurprisingly, his stats were not as good as yesterday’s round of 65, and he will be disappointed not to have a holed a six foot putt for birdie on the 18th. He managed to hit only eight fairways out of 14 and 12 greens in regulation. He hit five more putts at 29, than he did on Thursday, but showed his battling qualities to stay out in front. He also made a couple of good saves for par when in trouble, and this ability to grind out a decent score, along with his return to form, bodes well for the Belfry clash in September.

Darren Clarke (69): The Ulsterman was more than happy with his second round of two under par, admitting: “I didn’t hit the ball as nice as yesterday but hopefully I’ll put in some good scores on the weekend.” This must be seen as a positive for the cigar smoking Irish man, who will looking to lower the amount of putts he takes – 29 in total for today. He hit nine fairways out of 14 and 11 greens in regulation, and if he can take a few more of his chances tomorrow, he should be in for a good weekend.

Jose Maria Olazabal (74): A disappointing day for the Spaniard with his touch on the greens completely disserting him. He hit a woeful 35 putts, which was to prove extremely costly, as he hit three over par for the second round. Olazabal’s driving also deteriorated with the Spaniard hitting nine fairways out of 14, compared to 11 on Thursday. The one positive was that he hit 13 greens in regulation, one more than on Thursday.

Pierre Fulke (67): Another great day for the Swede, who continued to show Sam Torrance that he is returning to form at just the right time. “I’ve been struggling for five months, so it’s nice to be back,” said Fulke. He hit 27 putts which was good to see, and found ten out of 14 fairways. He found 13 greens in regulation and looked a lot more confident as his round progressed. A great sign for the European Ryder Cup team.

Jesper Parnevik (68): The Swede was in fine form for the second day running, with a three under par round putting him firmly in contention. Since arriving at Lytham Parnevik has stated that he is happy with the state of his game and the way he is striking the ball. The stats again confirmed this in that he hit 13 out of 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation. He would have been slightly disappointed to take 29 putts and will look to improve in that department on Saturday. In terms of his bid to qualify for the Ryder Cup team automatically, this was another good day for the Swede, with European captain Sam Torrance said to be delighted at the current form he is showing.

Sergio Garcia (72): It was a disappointing day for the young Spanish sensation as he stumbled to a one over par 71. He struggled with his accuracy off the tee hitting only nine fairways out of eleven. His approach shots to the green were obviously affected and he could only hit 11greens in regulation. His putting was also below par with Garcia taking 30 putts – a few too many. “I haven’t played this bad in over a year but I’m happy with the way I held it together,” Garcia said. His battling qualities have to be admired, but for Ryder Cup fans they will be hoping there is no repeat of today’s antics in September.

Lee Westwood (70): Another day of grinding it out for the reigning European Order of Merit winner, with his putting proving to be his Achilles heel. He took 32 putts - which is why he managed to only shoot one under par. However, there were encouraging signs to suggest he is returning to some sort of form, with Westwood hitting 11 out of 14 fairways and 15 greens in regulation.

Padraig Harrington (66): The Irish man revealed he had practiced at the final Open qualifying venue last night in a bid to get more practice in the wind. This attitude will be warmly welcomed for the forthcoming Ryder Cup battle, especially as his dedication reaped dividends as he hit five under par. He hit 11 out of 14 fairways and 13 greens in regulation, which was five more than on Thursday. He also improved his touch on the greens, taking three less putts than yesterday, 28 in total.

Paul Mcginley (72): Another disappointing finish to his round, once again highlighting he needs to handle pressure better – something he will have to work on before the Belfry battle. He took four more putts (30) than yesterday, and will be disappointed with his score after being at four under par at one stage. His driving remains in good shape, with 11 fairways hit out of 14, while he also hit 11 greens in regulation.

Thomas Bjorn (75): Riddled with flu, this will be two days the Dane will want to forget in hurry. He never looked on top of his game and struggled to hit the ball in the places he wanted. He managed to hit nine out of 14 fairways, but only a woeful seven greens in regulation. However, it was not all doom and gloom, with Bjorn taking just 25 putts in his second round.

Phillip Price (69): It was a good putting day for Price, with the Welshman taking just 27 putts in his round of two under par. He drastically improved his driving stats hitting nine fairways out 14 compared to just four yesterday! His greens in regulation also went up to 11 from nine on Thursday, and all in all it was a much better day for Price. In terms of the Ryder Cup it was nice to see him bounce back in good style, something he might have to do if things don’t start so well at the Belfry in September.

Andrew Coltart (68): The Scot will be delighted to have made the cut, with his putting again being very consistent – (28) exactly the same amount as yesterday. He hit 11 out of 14 fairways, which will have pleased him, while he drastically improved his stats concerning greens in regulation, hitting 13 which was five more than on Thursday. It was good to see Coltart battle back to be able to play the weekend, and this never say die attitude would be greatly appreciated by the European supporters at the Belfry in September.

USA

Tiger Woods (68): Tiger hit 15 out of 18 greens today and that was the foundation for his three-under 68. Although he sprayed a couple off the tee, he still hit 11 fairways – three up from Thursday – and overall was much happier with his ball striking. "I felt a lot more comfortable with my swing and consequently I put the ball in some good spots," said Woods. Although he took 30 putts, that was partly a result of hitting so many greens. Rarely did we see him chipping from just off the putting surfaces.

David Duval (73): A cold putter continues to plague Duval and he left the course bitterly frustrated after a homeward 40 left him seven behind leader Colin Montgomerie. "Everything went wrong. Just made stupid mistakes. Hit it in the wrong places," was Duval's curt summation. For the second day running he wasn’t accurate enough off the tee – hitting just eight of 14 fairways – and although he found 12 greens his putting wasn’t good enough to take advantage. In all he took 32 putts and he will need to work on that part of his game ahead of the Ryder Cup.

Phil Mickelson (72): “I hit the ball very poorly,” said the left-hander after his second round one-over par 72 and that’s highlighted by the fact that he hit just 6 of 14 fairways. For the second day running he hit 11 greens and 29 putts which at least shows consistency but the left-hander will need to step up his game at the Ryder Cup where great things will be expected of him.

Davis Love (67): Love shot himself back in the championship with an excellent second round 67. As you would expect, statistically his game was better all round than in his opening 73. Today Love hit 11 fairways, 13 greens and took 28 putts – three fewer than Thursday. Despite that, he still sees room for improvement, saying: “I’ve been squeezing my irons a little bit. I need to relax a bit and not be so tight with my full swing into the greens.”

Tom Lehman (72): Lehman’s hopes of repeating his memorable Lytham win of 1996 are now over after he dropped three shots over the last four holes to finish +5. Although his iron play was again spot on (he hit 13 greens), he found just seven fairways for the second day running and his putting let him down again. 32 putts on Friday and 65 overall is a worrying statistic to take into the Ryder Cup where putting is so crucial.

Mark Calcavecchia (70): Calc showed the sort of fighting spirit that will impress any Ryder Cup captain by fighting back from a disastrous triple bogey 7 at the third hole. Five birdies from the sixth onwards helped Calc shoot 70 and put him in the for weekend on level par. On Thursday he was superb from tee-to-green but wobbly with his putter. Today it was almost a reverse as he needed just 27 putts – six less than round one – and hit just seven fairways as opposed to 12 on the first day.

Jim Furyk (75): There were no disasters to compare to the 10 he took yesterday but Furyk never looked like staging a comeback and he missed the cut comfortably. His usual accuracy off the tee deserted him (he hit just nine fairways) and his putter couldn't save him even though he managed less than most of his colleagues (29). He has an excellent Ryder Cup record but in his current form he looks very beatable.

Scott Hoch (72): Hoch has never been in love with the Open – in fact he’s made more disparaging comments about it than most – so perhaps it’s no surprise to see him miss the cut despite his recent stellar form in America. He hit his fair share of fairways (10) and greens (12) but for the second day on the bounce he took 31 putts. He will need to putt better and show a far better attitude at The Belfry.

Stewart Cink (72): Cink dropped shots at 17 and 18 but still made it into the weekend on one over. He hit more fairways (9) and greens (13) than he did in his first round 71 but his putting let him down. He needed 32 strokes with the short stick in round two and that was five more than he took on Thursday.

David Toms (73): Toms was another halfway casualty after he lost any hope of making the cut by taking 6 at the final hole. He clearly enjoyed the wide open fairways of St Andrews last year when tied fourth but could never come to terms with Lytham, finding just six today and 14 out of 28 over the two days. He hit 12 greens but he took 30 putts again for the second day running and it sealed his fate.

Brad Faxon (71): Faxon found the fairway 11 times in round two which will please him and also hit 11 greens. But his usual magic touch with the putter wasn’t really there as he took 29 putts – two worse than Thursday’s total. His halfway total of 139 put some of his more glamorous team-mates in the shade and if he doesn’t qualify automatically he looks an excellent wildcard pick given his performance here so far.

Joe Durant (70): Durant improved his statistics all round in his second round but ultimately his putting cost him a place in the weekend. His reputation as a straight hitter was borne out by the fact that he hit 12 fairways and an excellent 14 greens. But 31 putts was again too many and took his tally to 64 over the two rounds. Although he can get hot with the putter on US tracks, he will need to adapt better at the Belfry than he has here.