Montgomerie chirpy as Woods makes his move

The way putt after putt by Tiger Woods lipped out, stopped on the edge or shaved the hole, the world No 1 might have already hit the front at the Deutsche Bank SAP Open. As it was, a second round of 67 left Woods two behind the joint leaders, Colin Montgomerie and Alex Cejka, at St Leon Rot.

A year ago Woods had to make up 10 strokes over the last 36 holes to win the title for the second time in three years. Numerically the challenge may not be as great this time, but there are enough contenders to make Woods work hard over the last two rounds. A chirpy Montgomerie, at 10 under after a 68, and the injured Darren Clarke are chief among them. Clarke tied at nine under with Ian Woosnam, the Welshman's young compatriot Mark Pilkington, who tied the best score of the week with a 64, and Richard Green. Justin Rose, who won in Japan two weeks ago, scored a 65 to join Woods at eight under.

Gone was the glorious sunshine of Friday. Under grey skies and more of a breeze, scoring was not as easy as in the first round. Woods improved on his opening 69 by two strokes but it could have been so much better. The only hole where he was over par was the second.

The rough is thick enough to cause even the powerful Woods problems. He caught a flier for his second shot and finished 50 yards past the pin in jungle that required two hacks from which to escape. He then needed two putts for a double-bogey six.

Fortunately he birdied the first and the third. Three birdies in a row came from the sixth and another at the 10th, after which he parred round to the last, one of the most challenging holes on the course, where he holed from 20 feet for a closing three.

"I hit a lot of beautiful putts on the back nine and if some of them had gone in it could have a really low score," Woods said. "I was pleased how I was striking the ball as the wind got up. I am not disappointed where I am. Two strokes behind is not much to make up over 36 holes."

Tiger's record in Germany surpasses even that of Bernhard Langer for strike rate, if not longevity. As long as there are companies willing to fork out his appearance fee – somewhere in the region of £1.5 million – he can keep working on the latter.

Montgomerie needs a win here to have been victorious at all four of Germany's main tournaments. (The German Open is currently off the schedule.) "Any time you are doing as well as Bernhard Langer in Germany, you are doing OK," Monty said.

When it was pointed out that Langer, unlike the Scot, has never won the BMW International, Montgomerie positively beamed. There are days when it is as hard to get Monty to stop talking as it is on others to get him to start. He even declared he would be giving a press conference at the close of proceedings on Monday evening, which would be a first when Woods is in the field.

"It's exciting to be playing the way I am doing now," said Montgomerie, who finished third in last week's Benson and Hedges International. "I had not been in contention until the last few weeks but it was exciting to be there at The Belfry and disappointing to get into the lead and then to lose. I will have to do better this week. The standard behind is good and I am sure Tiger will be right there."

Monty added: "You are not going to beat Tiger mentally, physically, by outdriving him, putting better, chipping better or with better iron-play. The only way to beat him is to shoot lower scores. It is simple in theory, it's in practice that it is more difficult."

Clarke, like Lee Westwood, Thomas Bjorn and Paul Lawrie but not Monty, has beaten Woods. He might not have had a chance here if he had pulled out on Wednesday due to the thigh injury he suffered fishing on the River Test. "The physios have done a fantastic job," said Clarke, who scored 68. "They advised me if I felt a twinge to contemplate pulling out. There is no pain when I am swinging but I can't squat down to line up the ball on the greens."

Brian Davis was disqualified overnight for straddling a putt when he tapped in from two inches at the eighth hole on Friday. The incident was caught by a referee watching highlights of the day's play, who assessed a two-stroke penalty. However, Davis had long since signed his card for an incorrect 69.