Westwood woe for Europe

Europe's Ryder Cup captain, Sam Torrance, faces an anxious wait to find out if Lee Westwood will be able to take his place in the team for next month's match with the Americans at The Belfry.

The European No 1 withdrew from the final two rounds of the NEC World Championship here after suffering a wrist-ligament injury. Westwood, who suffered the injury when he appeared to jar his wrist on the 13th tee yesterday, completed his second round, though in obvious discomfort – he had a triple bogey on the 16th and a double at the last for a 78 which left him joint last of the 39-strong field.

David Brookes, from Westwood's handlers International Sports Management, said that ligament damage had been diagnosed when Westwood went straight from the course to an on-site physio, and the wrist had been strapped. "He could be out for a while," he said.

At the top of the leader-board, Jim Furyk is leading the way at nine under par after rounds of 65 and 66, with Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson breathing down his neck in joint second.

The Irish pair Darren Clarke and Padraig Harrington are joint fourth, but both bogeyed the last to be three adrift of Furyk.

Ian Poulter's 72 left him on one under, but there is still a huge amount at stake for the 25-year-old. He lies 12th in the Ryder Cup table with only one more week to go. With 10th-placed Phillip Price one over and 12th-placed Miguel Angel Jimenez two over he can make significant inroads into their advantage – or even overtake them. Paul McGinley, still not sure of his Cup debut in eighth spot, was disappointed to slide from two under to one over, but not as disappointed as Thomas Bjorn, who crashed from four under to five over with a 79.