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by Jeremy Chapman
AS Tiger Woods stumbled from one disaster to another at Carnoustie last night and with only his fighting heart keeping him in contention, Sergio Garcia goes into the weekend with a two-shot halfway lead as solid favourite to become the first European to win the Open this century.

VCbet reported a massive £40,000 punt at 5-2 towards the end of play as the Spaniard, fifth in the last two Opens and top-ten in five of the last six, continued to settle a score with the great Angus links that cost him his pride and his tears in 1999.

Woods started with a replica of his opening shot in the Ryder Cup at the K Club, a pulled tee shot into the water. Out of bounds at the first, he ran up a double-bogey six and scrambled like mad to save par all the way round. A bogey at the last left him with a 74 for 143 and seven adrift.

There was none of the razzle-dazzle of Thursday's 65 from Garcia, but a par round of 71 for a six-under-par total of 136 on a tougher scoring day – only Niclas Fasth, Charley Hoffman, Mike Weir and Raphael Jacquelin broke 70– was further proof that the new belly putter has given super Sergio a new edge after two years of greens misery.

It was not what he holed – the longest putt was no more than the six-footer he made to save par on the monstrous 18th – but what he didn't miss. With the normal putter we are accustomed to seeing Garcia yip it all over the place from short range but yesterday he was as solid as a rock.

KJ Choi, backed in-running for £1,000 at 16-1 with Betfred, duplicated his opening 69 to move into second place on 138, one better than Garcia's veteran compatriot Miguel Angel Jimenez, who was only inches away from a hole in one at the 16th, and Weir.

Lurking a shot further back is Jim Furyk, now demoted to world No. 3 after Phil Mickelson's second place at Loch Lomond, and he heads the American challenge along with hillbilly Boo Weekley, playing in his first Open.

Asked whether he was aware of the great history of the world's premier championship, Weekley said: “If it ain't fishing I don't tend tobe interested. I don't really follow golf.”

After Woods had finished, he was a best-priced 7-1 behind the 5-2 favourite Garcia, who was 4 on Betfair with Woods 8.

Garcia's round began with a potential disaster, a four-iron shank on the first hole which hit a woman spectator on the thigh, leaving him with a near-impossible pitch out of tangly rough.
But he had the shot of the week to get himself back on track, the recovery finishing only inches from the hole.

Unsettled by that early mistake, Garcia, with two birdies wiped out by two bogeys – a three-putt at the fourth and a tee shot into a fairway bunker at the 11th – never looked quite the same player as on the first day.

“It was more of a grinder's day,” he said. “I was hoping for a little better than what I did. But I'm definitely in a good position to win my first Major.

“The new putter? It feels more comfortable than the little one and it takes pressure of the other parts of my game because I have confidence with it.

“Before I couldn't see the lines on the short putts and I was thinking ‘Don't miss the green because you'll be making bogey'. But I'm much more positive now.”

Korean ace Choi, who clearly doesn't understand the questions when he is interviewed in English which made for an amusing few minutes on the Beeb, arrived at Carnoustie after two wins in the States and is one of the form horses as long as you don't look too closely at his moderate Open record (best of 16th in 2004 from six visits).

The expected worsening weather today will test him (and others) as gusts of up to 22mph are predicted for the late afternoon just when the leaders are out, so there has to be a chance of someone springing out of the pack.

Cabrera, Goosen and Lee Westwood, at five behind, Els and Harrington at six, and Vijay Singh at seven are big names within striking distance along, of course, with Tiger. We're in for a humdinger!

In-running best prices at 7.30pm last night: 5-2 S Garcia, 7 T Woods, 9 KJ Choi, 20 E Els, M Weir, M A Jimenez, 25 R Goosen, 28 A Cabrera, 33 P Harrington, 40 L Westwood, B Weekley, 50 V Singh, 66 bar.

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