Torrance secures weekend employment

Sam Torrance, getting back to the day job for the first time in over a month, made sure of employment for the weekend with three birdies in his last four holes in the second round of the Lancôme Trophy. Relieved of the cares of office, but still euphoric, Torrance squeezed in under the cut with a three-under 68.

Having spent much of the first two days over par, it was a good effort from the triumphant Ryder Cup captain. "I am just delighted to get some weekend work," the Scot said. A sore shoulder meant he missed of a couple of tournaments, while preparations for and celebrations after The Belfry also kept him out of action.

Torrance is due to play in something called the Warburg Cup in November. This is a version of the Ryder Cup for Senior tour players and those just under the 50 mark. Curtis Strange, the American captain at The Belfry, will also be playing and as it is an exhibition event no doubt there will be some collusion so they might meet in the singles. "I won't mind losing to him this time," Torrance laughed.

Torrance's playing partner, Nick Faldo, was a shadow of his self from the previous day. One difference was that the putts did not drop as they had in his 65 on Thursday, but a lack of confidence seeped through his whole game. From the middle of the fairway at the ninth, his 18th, he put his second 50 yards right of the green. This might be described as a shank but golfers prefer rhyming slang, as in J Arthur Rank. His recovery did not clear the greenside bunker and he took a bogey five.

Faldo's 74 left him at three under having been unable to follow the lead of Maarten Lafeber and Alex Cejka. Lafeber, the 27-year-old Dutchman, had a second successive 65 to be 12 under, while Cejka, the overnight leader, had a 68 to be two behind.

Cejka, who withdrew from the Dunhill Links a month ago but whose name was not scrubbed from the draw, walked into his local club in Prague for some breakfast last Thursday to be told he was due off on the Old Course in 20 minutes. Yesterday morning the German arrived at the 15th, his sixth, to find there was no flag on the green. Lesser men would start to get paranoid.

Robert Karlsson maybe has. His clubs were stolen in St Andrews last Sunday, a new set impounded by customs on his way to Paris and yesterday he was hit on the head while putting on the sixth by his fellow Swede Anders Forsbrand, who was attempting to play the fourth. He was given a 20-minute time out but still finished at five under, level with Sergio Garcia.

Christian Cevaer, who holed in one at the third, had every score up to a six in the six holes from the second to the seventh. Otherwise it was a pleasantly soporific afternoon in the sunshine, with Colin Montgomerie finishing at two under par. "Nothing happened" was his cheerfully accurate report.