Monty and Poulter in mix Down Under

Colin Montgomerie and Ian Poulter are three shots off the lead after the second round of the Johnnie Walker Classic in Perth, Australia yesterday. Scotland’s Montgomerie shot a two-under 70 while England’s Poulter returned a three-under 69. American Anthony Kang (67) and Ireland’s Damien McGrane (68) share the lead on 10 under par. England’s David Howell is six under, while countrymen Lee Westwood and Paul Casey are five off the pace.

Colombia’s Camilo Villegas, the only player in the tournament ranked in the world top 10, missed the cut by two strokes after rounds of 72 and 71. First-round leader Robert-Jan Derksen was tied for the lead with Kang for much of the afternoon but a run of three consecutive bogeys saw him finish with a level-par 72. That dropped him into a tie for sixth with eight other players on eight under including world No 11 Anthony Kim of America (68) and England’s John Bickerton (70).

Graeme Storm of England and South Africa’s David Frost shot the day’s best rounds of 64 to join Montgomerie and Poulter in a 13-way tie on seven under.

“I played better off the tee and hit more fairways, which was helpful,” said McGrane, who recorded his maiden European Tour win at last year’s Volvo China Open. “I’m putting quite nicely again. I made some mistakes in the middle of the round but I played solid overall and bounced back well from those mistakes at the ninth and 10th to shoot four under.”