Dougherty takes halfway lead

England's Nick Dougherty produced the fireworks in his five-under-par 67 to seize the halfway lead in the Caltex Masters presented by Carlsberg, Singapore 2005 at Laguna National Golf and Country Club today.

The 22-year-old Dougherty finished the second round one stroke ahead from defending champion Colin Montgomerie of Scotland, who carded a 71 in the US$1 million event which is jointly sanctioned by the Asian Tour and European Tour.

Asia's charge was led by Malaysian Danny Chia and China's Liang Wen-chong, who carded rounds of 70 and 68 respectively for joint third place with Danish Ryder Cup star Thomas Bjorn and Welshman Jamie Donaldson. The quartet are three off the lead.

Dougherty, a protégé of six-time Major winner Nick Faldo and also nicknamed "Little Nick", scorched the fairways in his inward nine. Starting the day from the 10th and turning in one over, the talented Englishman produced a remarkable run of five birdies and one eagle in seven holes before a late blemish on nine where he dropped a shot. He has a two day score of nine-under-par 135.

"I'am very pleased," said Dougherty, who admitted last year that he did not put in a concerted effort in his professional career. "I am playing well and I feel good in myself - I think rejuvenated is a good way to describe it. I have a great team around me and I feel I can relax into my game now.

"Golf is really good fun to play again and it wasn't last year. I made it more difficult than it was and I am only thankful that I can go out there now and shoot a few good scores. It is the changes I have made in my life away from golf that have allowed me to be more relaxed on the golf course as well. I had a lot of hype when I turned professional and the media coverage was fantastic but I didn't believe myself deep down that I was that good.

Monty, who was bogey-free en route to a sizzling 65 on Thursday, carded a one-under round to remain well placed to retain the only title he won last season. The Scotsman, who holed the winning putt in Europe's win in the Ryder Cup last year, dropped a bogey on the par five second hole but responded like the true champion that he is by hitting two straight birdies on the third and fourth holes. Another dropped shot was offset with a birdie on 16.

Liang, touted as a future star for Asia, enjoyed a bogey-free card and shot four birdies while Chia, playing on a sponsor's invite, also had four birdies but dropped two bogeys as he repaid Caltex's faith in him by contending at the halfway stage.

"I missed a lot of putts but I was happy with my ball striking. The wind was swirling out there and it was kind of tough. I would have taken anything under par at the start of the round, so I'm really happy," said Chia, the 2002 Taiwan Open champion.

"I'm just trying to keep my swing thoughts simple this week. I think over the years, I've been doing too much with my swing and I'll aim to do the same at the weekend and hope to stay close to lead."

The man that everyone will have keep a close watch over is Danish star Bjorn, who moved into the hunt with a 66. Bjorn enjoyed a strong outward nine, turning in 30 with six birdies before cooling off with one birdie on the third hole against his only bogey on the fifth.

"I have always said that my mental strength comes from my technique," he said. "When my technique is good, I know I can go out and play well, so we worked very hard on that and I have good vibes about my golf at this moment in time. But I know I still have a lot of hard work to do because it is very early in the season.

"I am at the stage in my career where I need to press forward, I need to go to those levels where I can consistently perform. We are not out of the month of January and the three best players in the world have already made a million dollars, so everybody has to step up their game to keep up with them," said Bjorn.

World number 25 Lee Westwood, the highest ranked player in the field, stumbled to a 73 that included a double bogey on the ninth and two finishing bogeys to lie on 143, eight shots off the pace.

Asian number one Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand and former Caltex Masters presented by Carlsberg winner Arjun Atwal of India both missed the cut which was set at 146. Thongchai, who ballooned to a 79 in the first round after twice finding water at par-three holes, carded a second round 74.

Starting at the 10th hole, the former paratrooper was one under after nine holes but carded three bogeys on the inward stretch. Arjun, the 2002 champion, added a three-over-par 75 to his disastrous opening 77 which included a triple bogey seven at his first hole.

China's Zhang Lian-wei, who dramatically pipped Ernie Els to the title in 2003, carded his second successive 72 to make it into the weekend's play.

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