Monty marches on course for Masters

Another round, another American dusted and this time after an almighty tussle that recalled all the Scot's great days as he withstood a ferocious challenge from the talented Charles Howell, who played the back nine in 31 strokes yet still lost.

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What a lovely touch that his opponent should hail from Augusta, for the way to this year's Masters has now become a lot clearer for Monty.

Indeed, he can seal his place in the year's first major with one more victory today, and who should be standing in his way but Stewart Cink, who just happens to hail from Georgia as well. Who is writing this script?

It wasn't just Georgia, though, that was on Monty's mind. When this epic match was over he didn't quite chant: 'Are you watching, Nick Faldo?' But it was mighty close.

Asked if he went into Ryder Cup mode to come back from one down with five to play to rack up three birdies and win on the home green, he replied: 'Yes, and I've just told American television that, because I know Nick is commentating in the booth.' Do you think Monty would quite like to be part of Europe captain Faldo's side in September?

Every year the Americans dream of a final in this competition between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson — and every year this unpredictable 18-hole format trips them up.

Mickelson was the victim yesterday, playing 17 holes in seven under but still he had to bow the knee to Australian Stuart Appleby. No such problems for Woods, mind, who needed none of his first-day heroics to beat Aaron Oberholser handily.

As for the British and Irish challenge, thank goodness Monty was on form and Paul Casey, too, for this was a day when heavy casualties were suffered.

Ian Poulter will be kicking himself all the way back to his home in Florida after losing a shocking match against Korean KJ Choi. Two down with two to play, Poulter was gifted the 17th and then knocked in his first birdie of the day from 30ft at the 18th to send the match into extra holes.

There, he summed up a scrappy match by contriving to go from bunker to bunker on the par-five first before missing a 5ft putt to lose to a par. Victory, and he and Casey would have fought it out today for the probable right to take on Woods in Saturday's quarter-finals. Now Casey will play Choi.

Luke Donald was another well below his best in losing to U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera, while Open champion Padraig Harrington lost on the home green to Cink for the second successive year at the same stage.

Lee Westwood had four birdies in a row from the seventh but only one thereafter, and went out 2&1 to Justin Leonard.

It was Monty's day, then. Dodgy putting stroke? Some of us might owe him an apology after the way he holed a series of crucial putts over the back nine. None was better than the curling 10-footer on the 17th to preserve his precious one-hole lead going to the last.

The key moment, however, was undoubtedly the par-four 15th, with the match all square. Howell was in what the pros refer to as 'the zone'. Five birdies in six holes and now he was only 5ft away from another.

Monty, meanwhile had a putt from four times that distance. But he rolled it in off the left edge and Howell could only watch in horror as his effort horseshoed completely round the hole — and stayed out.

No golfer will have trouble guessing what happened next with regard to Casey after sharing an extraordinary 16 birdies with Swede Robert Karlsson in the first round. Naturally, he couldn't buy one yesterday against Welshman Bradley Dredge.

A front nine that had been a gentle stroll on day one became a complex labyrinth. Putts that had fallen unerringly into the hole now burned the edges; shots that had previously left the club face as if guided by laser now danced in crooked lines. Dredge and Casey mustered only two birdies each all day. Isn't that the delightfully maddening nature of matchplay golf to a tee?

The important thing, of course, as Woods showed on day one, is to battle the perversity of the gods and somehow pull through. So credit Casey that he was able to do this, keeping the mistakes away on the back nine and registering a birdie at the 15th to go ahead for the first time. He ran out a victor after Dredge dumped his drive into a cactus at the 17th.