Parnevik eclipses Garcia to lead by 1

Ever-colourful Jesper Parnevik took over at the top from wonder boy Sergio Garcia at Loch Lomond on Thursday - and then came up with a quite bizarre explanation for why he was not further ahead.

While Garcia came back to earth after his dazzling opening 62, Parnevik blamed a maths problem involving the circumference of the earth for one of his three bogeys.

The Ryder Cup Swede added a 67 to his first day 64 to be on the 11 under par mark of 131 at halfway, but admitted afterwards that instead of thinking about a short putt on the 10th green his mind was going round the world.

"I've had this bet with my caddie and I was trying to figure it out," said Parnevik.

"If you put a rope round the Earth and then put another one above it on three-foot stakes what's the difference in length?

"I told him it's less than 20 yards and he thinks it's 10,000 or something."

As the calculations went on Parnevik - apparently right - missed, but the bogey woke him up and with his head back in gear the world No 15 birdied three of the next five holes and, despite a bogey at the last, now leads the race for the £166,660 first prize.

Garcia, meanwhile, had to be content with a 70 and could find no better explanation than "I just didn't play as well."

Winner of the Irish Open in only his sixth professional start on Sunday, Garcia had become even more the talk of golf with his 62.

He is only 19, but he is old enough and wise enough to know that he could not expect to continue like that.

"You don't shoot too many 62s in a week," said the teenager. "Two in a month is something great.

"I didn't feel pressure, but I am a little more tired than I was last week. I'm drinking vitamins, though, and I am going to go running."

Garcia's comments after his 62 brought a mild rebuke from European number one Colin Montgomerie, back in contention at eight under following a 65.

The young Spaniard had said he could have broken 60, but Montgomerie opened his press conference by saying totally unprompted: "I'm not here to say I'm going to break 60, that's for sure.

"That was an odd thing to say. Every round could be or should be better, but it's a thing we don't mention all that much.

"Yes, I've had my opportunities in the past to score 59, but I don't go in and say I can break 60."

Garcia responded by saying: "All I said was that I had an opportunity. I felt I could have done it, but I didn't say I deserved it."

Defending champion Lee Westwood, playing with Parnevik, charged into a share of the lead by going to the turn in 32 and then picking up a fifth shot at the short 11th.

But Parnevik said that the Worksop player also made some sloppy mistakes and bogeys at the 13th and 15th for a 68 dropped Westwood back to eight under alongside Montgomerie, rising British star David Park and Devon's Roger Winchester.

"I was just looking at the statistics and it shows I'm third from tee to green this season and 158th in putting," said Westwood. "That really tells the story."

Park, the 25-year-old Hereford-based Welshman, is playing only his fourth European tour event and in his first two finished second and first.

A seven-birdie 65 showed that the former Walker Cup player fully intends to keep his form going heading into next week's Open at Carnoustie.

Nick Faldo chipped in an amazing three times and had two hat-tricks of birdies, but still finished with only a 70 and four under total.

Faldo, down to an all-time low of 189th in the world rankings, also had a double bogey seven at the long 13th and after finishing with two bogeys said: "My game is inconsistent - I'm still struggling.

"I have to go to the range and find something. I'm not comfortable - I'm not releasing the damned thing.

"But it was nice to see my short game so sharp."

While he has gone 28 months without a solo success, Sandy Lyle is nearing seven years and the former Open and Masters champion, now 294th in the world rankings, missed the cut despite an eagle on the third and a round of 69. The damage had been done with an opening 76.

Also out went Ian Woosnam and Bernhard Langer - and Aberdeen's Scott Henderson, whose nightmare 85 included a 10 on the 625-yard sixth.

Winchester, who sank a seven-iron to the 415-yard 12th for an eagle two on day one, remarkably began his second round by holing out again with the same club for another eagle two at the 425-yard first.

Even though the rest of his 69 failed to match that, the former English amateur champion was happy enough to stay in contention and said: "The less serious I take my golf the better I play.

"Look at David Duval and Davis Love's body language - they never seem too fazed. It's easier said than done, of course, but the pressure of being in contention does not compare to the pressure of trying to scrape a living on the Challenge Tour."

Late into the evening New Zealander Michael Campbell and Swede Mats Lanner had also reached joint third place on eight under with three and five holes to play respectively.

Campbell parred every hole on the back nine to stay alongside Montgomerie, Westwood, Park and Winchester, but Lanner bogeyed the 14th and double-bogeyed the next.