Westwood takes lead after second 67

Lee Westwood fired his second consecutive round of five-under 67 Friday to move to the top of the leaderboard at the midway point of the Scandinavian Masters at Barseback Golf and Country Club. His score of 10-under 134 puts him one shot ahead of Colin Montgomerie and Ian Poulter.

The defending champion is looking to break out of a stretch of golf uncharacteristic of the top European player of 2000. His first round score of 67 was his first sub-70 round in 17 attempts dating back to the English Open in early June.

"Coming down the stretch I felt like I was back and had not lost the habit of being in contention and knowing how to handle the pressure."

Westwood carded a bogey on the par-four third to finish the front nine at one-over 36 but recovered in remarkable fashion with six birdies on the back nine, including four in a row from the 15th.

"It's great to be back on top of the leaderboard, that's where you want to be." said Westwood, who had missed the cut in four of his previous six events.

The 28-year-old, who had seven wins worldwide last year, has failed to defend three of his five European titles this season but is looking to make history at the Scandinavian Masters.

With a victory, Westwood would become the first player to defend his title at this event as well as the first player to win this tournament three times.

Montgomerie carded five birdies and two bogeys to move into a tie with Poulter at nine-under 135.

Poulter shot a 65 for the round of the day, starting with four birdies on the front nine. He added five more on the back nine to go along with two bogeys, the second of which came on the final hole.

"That was a shame because it would have been a great round but I hit a terrible tee shot into the trees and a par would have been a bonus," said Poulter, last season's rookie of the year. "But I'm very happy. I played great all day apart from a few loose tee shots."

Darren Clarke, Niclas Fasth, Dennis Edlund and Peter Hedblom are two strokes off the lead at eight-under 136.

Clarke still has his sights set on catching Retief Goosen at the top of the Order of Merit.

"I think I can still catch Retief, I'm hitting the ball the way I want to at the moment, now I need to knock in a few more putts," said Clark.

First-round leader Anthony Wall, who shot his best round on the European tour on Thursday, dropped to five-under 139 after a round of 76.

Sam Torrance, the 2001 European Ryder Cup captain, missed the 36-hole cut, which fell at even-par 144, when he followed his opening-round 67 with a 78 on Friday.

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