By Mark Garrod, PA Sport Golf Correspondent, Rochester

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Lee Westwood is down in the dumps about his golf game again after missing his fourth successive halfway cut in majors.

After falling from fourth in the world two years ago to well outside the top 200, Westwood has had three top-15 finishes in Europe recently.

But whatever confidence those results gave him appeared to have evaporated in Rochester on Friday night following a second-round 78 at the United States PGA championship.

Westwood stays on in America for next week's NEC world championship - all members of the Ryder Cup team last September are guaranteed places in that - but he said: "If it wasn't four rounds without a cut I'd be going home.

"At the moment it feels like a waste of time. The way I played today my game was not right for any course.

"I've put two years of hard work in and I'm making progress with David (new coach David Leadbetter), but I just can't take it onto the course. I haven't got a safe shot.

"You can't build confidence when you shoot 78. I felt I was getting better, but last week (another missed cut in the International tournament in Colorado) and this were awful." He added that he did not hit a single fairway with his driver yesterday.

The last cut the former European number one made in majors was the Masters last year. But there were a lot of familiar faces to keep him company on the sidelines this weekend.

Also out are Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, Open runner-up Thomas Bjorn, Greg Owen, Bradley Dredge, Alastair Forsyth, Brian Davis, Phillip Price, Justin Rose and, worst of all of them on 16 over par, Colin Montgomerie, whose 82 on Thursday was his highest-ever round in America.

Of the British and Irish contingent in the final major of the year, that left only Luke Donald, Ian Poulter, Padraig Harrington, Gary Evans and Paul Casey.

Donald is best placed of them at five over, but that was eight adrift of surprise leader Shaun Micheel and Harrington, Evans and Casey made it through with nothing to spare at eight over.

Casey needed a 69, one of only five sub-par rounds all day, to make it and the relief was palpable. In all his four previous majors he had been a spectator at the weekend every time.

Montgomerie has made the cut only in the US Open this season and his 50th major, on the course where he helped Europe win the 1995 Ryder Cup, was one to forget in a hurry.

No European has won the event since Scottish-born Tommy Armour in 1930 and, asked for possible explanations, Montgomerie said: "The pin positions have been very tough and Europeans are not used to that.

"We have too many in the middle of greens, to be honest."

At least his mood was more upbeat following a 74 yesterday, while Clarke improved nine strokes on his opening 79. They will be hoping it is a sign of better things to come in Akron next week, as will the others staying on.