Westwood suffers as cold wind blows him off course

Lee Westwood said his head was in a spin after coming down to earth with a bump to throw the Mercedes-Benz Championship wide open here yesterday.

Four ahead overnight after an opening 61 which equalled the lowest round of his career, Westwood struggled to a second-round 73 at Gut Larchenhof to finish 10 under par, one behind the Dane Soren Hansen.

The former European No 1 again got off to a slow start, covering the first four holes in one over, but threatened to repeat his feat of Thursday in playing the last 14 in 11 under when he birdied the fifth and sixth and chipped in for an eagle on the seventh.

However, the 34-year-old's game fell to pieces on the back nine as the wind picked up and he limped home in 40 – he covered the same stretch in 29 yesterday – including a visit to the water on the 18th.

"I didn't play too badly," he insisted. "I didn't hit enough fairways and you have to do that here. The rough is quite severe and when I did hit the fairways I hit a couple of bad iron shots on the back nine.

"I came here with a bit of a cold and it's gradually got worse and I didn't get a good night's sleep last night. My balance felt a bit upset and I struggled to feel the right positions in my swing. I took a decongestant and it sent my head into a spin so I think I'll leave off them!

Hansen said: "Lee Westwood in form is always a dangerous man but there are still two rounds to go."