Thomas Levet, second at the halfway point in the Open at Royal Troon, reckons he is to golf what former Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic is to tennis.

"There is good Thomas, bad Thomas and sometimes normal Thomas," said the Frenchman, whose second round 70 left him just one behind American Skip Kendall.

"When I was good I was finishing first and when I was bad I was home on Friday night. I'm very patient, but when I go over the top I call it smoking. I lose it.

"And when I lose it, don't be in front of me. I can destroy anyone, especially in a restaurant.

"You know when you wait for butter for two hours and the guy says 'I'm coming, I'm coming.' The fifth time I say 'Are you coming or do I follow you into the kitchen to get the butter?"'

Levet says the worst example of "Bad Thomas" seen on a golf course was during the Turespana Masters in Spain early in his career.

"I was about to make the cut and then made a seven after five-putting from 10 feet. You just blow up the week in one green."

The 35-year-old from Paris shrugged off the impact of a rules query on the very first hole of his second round today.

A metal barrier was removed by marshals before he played his second shot. It should not have been, but since the Japanese referee in charge of the match was not sure how it happened and Levet did not know how it had happened there was no two-stroke penalty imposed.

"I was not even looking. When they put them down it looked natural because they were 10 yards away and it looked natural as well.

"It was more a decision of the referee. His presence made it clear it was not cheating.

"It was tough situation. The rules are so complex that sometimes the referee does not know. I tried to concentrate on what I was doing and when I knew there was no penalty that was it.

"I'm tired, but when you play well you give everything you have. I will sleep well - don't worry about it."