KEY POINTS:
Hamilton golfer Steve Alker has assured himself a fifth cheque this season after making the halfway cut in the ¬2 million ($4.35 million) Omega European Masters tournament in Switzerland.
Alker recorded just two birdies in bright but blustery conditions in round two of a level par 71 to end the day tied for 48th with a one under par tally after two days on the alpine Crans-sur-Sierre course.
Alker, 37, has been competing primarily on the secondary European Challenge Tour but gained entry into the prestigious Swiss event after a number of withdrawals.
It is only his 12th appearance this year on the main tour and his third straight, though he missed the cut in his two prior starts - the SAS Masters in Sweden and last week's Johnnie Walker Championship in Scotland.
"It was nice to see sunshine after a lot of rain but the wind made it very testing," Alker said. "I managed to drive the ball a lot better today whereas my putting wasn't as good as Thursday, when I had just 23 putts. So if I can combine driving the ball well and putting well, I feel I can produce some good scores to finish."
Michael Campbell continued his good form despite also carding a level par 71 for a two under par tally. The former US Open champion began his round at two under par and quickly raced to four under in his first three holes. But back-to-back bogeys followed at the fifth and sixth holes.
Campbell then birdied the seventh before a further bogey at 12 followed by a fourth birdie of his round at the 13th that got him back to three under par.
However, a bogey at the final hole will see Campbell start the third day in a share of 36th and six shots behind the leading duo of Australian and defending champion Brett Rumford and Northern Ireland teenage sensation Rory McIlroy.
"It was a pretty tough day in the office," Campbell said. "It was all about staying patient and trying to keep the bogeys off the card. It was disappointing to drop one there at the last, as 70 would have been a good score. But this is the fifth cut in a row I've made and I have to be happy about that.
"I'm going into the weekend six behind and as we've seen in the past, that's nothing around here because I recall Jamie Spence coming from 10 shots back with just one round to play and winning some years back."
Meanwhile, Colombia's Camilo Villegas set the early target at a soggy BMW Championship by firing a five-under-par 65 to grab the first round clubhouse lead yesterday.
US Ryder Cup team-mates Kenny Perry and Steve Stricker plus compatriot Tim Herron are one stroke back after four-under 66s on the waterlogged Bellerive Golf Club layout. Australian Stuart Appleby and Argentine Andres Romero are also on four-under.
The BMW, which is the third and penultimate event of the PGA Tour playoff series, had a stuttering start with first round play pushed back a day after the remnants of Hurricane Gustav swept across Missouri, washing out play.
Fiji's Vijay Singh, who has one hand on the FedEx Cup trophy and the US$10 million that goes to the playoff champion after capturing the first two events of the series, opened with an even-par 70 to stand five shots off the pace.
European Ryder Cup member Sergio Garcia and Mike Weir, who are Singh's main rivals in the FedEx Cup race, are in contention, with the Spaniard shooting two-under 68 and the Canadian 69.
- Agencies
