Dougherty leads into the weekend

Britain's Nick Dougherty, boosted by help from compatriot Nick Faldo, moved three clear of the field after the Scandinavian Masters second round on Friday.

Dougherty, in a three-way tie for the lead overnight, fired a three-under-par 69 to finish on eight-under 136 at Barsebeck.

Tied for second were Dougherty's 2001 Walker Cup team mate Luke Donald, who shot a 68, British veteran Mark James (70) and Dutchman Maarten Lafeber (71).

Sweden's Robert Karlsson raised the gallery's hopes of a home winner by moving into a share of fifth place, four shots off the lead, after carding a 69.

Level with Karlsson was fellow Swede Peter Hedblom, who returned a second successive 70 after losing his second playoff of the year last week when Michael Campbell won the Irish Open.

The 21-year-old Dougherty has been groomed by Faldo and the six-times major champion's advice helped the Englishman to bounce back from a poor spell, exacerbated by glandular fever.

Dougherty had missed six cuts in seven events until he finally began to shake off the effects of his illness last week, finishing 66th at the Irish Open.

The Englishman, one of Europe's bright young hopes for a 2004 Ryder Cup place, praised Faldo for getting him through his sticky patch.

"I think he understood that things were getting depressing for me and he guided me through," Dougherty said.

"He told me I had to go through lows like that to appreciate the highs.

"Nick is also great with diets and he told me I've got to cut out the McDonalds and stop drinking three or four pints of Coke a day.

"It seems to be working because I do feel much better, even though I slip occasionally with my diet," he added.

Surprise contender James, who becomes a senior tour player when he turns 50 in October, played down his own chances in Malmo.

"Hopefully I can build towards turning 50 but, at the moment, I'm one-hundred-and-fifty-miserable-seventh (in fact, 165th on the money list)," he said.

"I've got to get a good finish in the bag before I can consider I'm playing well enough."

The 1999 Ryder Cup captain chaired the European Tour players committee that voted Germany's Bernhard Langer for the 2004 captaincy last week.

Langer, one of the late starters on Friday, carded a 71 to finish five off the pace, level with joint first-round leader David Gilford, who faded to a 74.

Scotland's Andrew Coltart, the third of the pacesetters on day one, fared even worse, slipping into a tie for 28th after a 76.

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