Watching Tiger puts Dougherty on course

The Briton Nick Dougherty borrowed a strategy employed by Tiger Woods to recover from a poor start and share the halfway clubhouse lead in yesterday's wind-affected Scandinavian Masters second round.

A one-under 69 gave Dougherty a three-under total and a one-shot lead alongside fellow-Briton Edward Rush. The early lead hinged on the awkward short 18th, which Rush bogeyed for a 68. Dougherty had a birdie when playing it as his ninth hole.

The Liverpudlian had to claw back from four-over-par after just four holes when the gusts were at their highest, salvaging his round with an eagle and four birdies and dropping only one more shot.

He said "staying patient and biding my time" had been the key after watching Woods win the USPGA championship last Sunday.

"I didn't get flustered by my start," Dougherty said. "In the past I've tended to push harder when I'm struggling. It's all about not compounding mistakes. Tiger does it perfectly. He just keeps going because he has good momentum and he is comfortable with what he is doing. I watched the [USPGA] coverage last week, even though I missed the cut. I've tried to apply that this week."

This year Dougherty led the Singapore Masters and the Italian Open with just a few holes to go but let the titles slip from his grasp.

He has worked with a sports psychologist to try to curb his impatience and is convinced his new approach will bring him an elusive second title.

Rush is something of a surprise contender, lying 164th on the European money list, with a best finish of equal sixth in January's Joburg Open.

The Australian David Bransdon (67), Christian Cévaër of France (69) and Sweden's Joakim Backstrom (69) are tied for third place.

Bernhard Langer will play with his 17-year-old son Stefan for the first time in a European tour event at the Dutch Open next week after overcoming kidney stone problems.

Langer had to withdraw from the Players Championship of Europe in Hamburg three weeks ago after suffering acute pain but he has recovered in time to line up at the Kennemer club near Zandvoort with the amateur Stefan.

Their names appeared on the entry list released at the Scandinavian Masters yesterday. It is 17 years since a European father and son first teamed up in a European Tour tournament when Antonio Garrido appeared in the 1990 Spanish Open with his son Ignacio, who was 18 at the time. Ignacio's uncle German also played in that event.

Antonio and Ignacio both played in the Ryder Cup, although not together. The American Craig Stadler and his son Kevin, both European Tour title holders, played in the 2002 European Masters in Switzerland, while Jay and Billy Haas featured in the 2004 US Open.