Scotland's Colin Montgomerie shrugged off one of the worst slumps of his career at the UBS Hong Kong Open on Friday while 'nearly man' Oliver Wilson raised hopes of a breakthrough win.

South Africa's Louis Oosthuizen fired a blistering 62, one off the course record, to share a four-way lead at eight-under 132 with Wilson, fellow Englishman Oliver Fisher and Thailand's Chawalit Plaphol after round two.

India's Jeev Milkha Singh carded 63 on a bright, low-scoring day at par-70 Fanling to lie six under and two off the pace, just five days after winning the lucrative Singapore Open.

Hong Kong teenager Jason Hak, meanwhile, became the youngest player to make a European tour cut at 14 years and 304 days, beating the record set by world number two Sergio Garcia in 1995.

But 2005 US Open champion Michael Campbell, one of six Major winners here, was forced out with a shoulder injury and may be sidelined until January.

English legend Nick Faldo missed the level-par cut in his first and only event of the year, just two months after drawing heavy criticism for leading Europe to a heavy Ryder Cup defeat.

Montgomerie, the 2005 champion, has dropped to 118 in the world after a winless year and no top 10 finishes since June. But the eight-time European merit winner shook off the barren spell with five-under 65 for 133, just one off the lead.

"It's a place I feel very comfortable in. I like the city and I feel very safe here and it's amazing how one plays well in a place that you enjoy," Montgomerie said.

The winless Wilson, who lost a play-off with Sergio Garcia for his eighth European runner-up finish, insisted he wouldn't be thinking of second place if he was in contention on Sunday.

"I won't be walking down the last few holes thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to finish second again,' because you'll probably finish fourth or fifth," he said.

Oosthuizen said he would draw on his successes in his native South Africa as he bids to keep up his tremendous form.

"It's always fun going back to South Africa and playing in front of your home crowd," he said. "I'll definitely think of the wins I had there and take it out on the weekend."

Thailand's Chawalit, who is bidding to break a 10-year Asian drought here, was braced for an intense weekend with several big names in the hunt.

"There will be some pressure being in the lead among all the Europeans," he said.

"I realise that an Asian player has not won for a long time, and there are a lot of star players and a lot of European tour players."

Montgomerie was in a group just back from the leaders along with Johan Edfors, Marcus Fraser, Francesco Molinari and overnight leader Richard Sterne.

India's Singh was a shot further back on 134, level with Taiwan's Lin Wen-tang and rising Northern Irish star Rory McIlroy, 19, who birdied his first four holes and ended with 64.

Major winners John Daly and Bernhard Langer were four off the pace on 136, 2001 winner Jose Maria Olazabal was on 137 and defending champion Miguel Anguel Jimenez was eight shots adrift on level par 140.

Hong Kong is the second stop on the European Tour's all-new Race to Dubai, where the top 60 money-earners are invited to next November's 10 million dollar Dubai World Championship.

The 15 players who have accumulated the most winnings after the season finale also share a 10-million dollar purse. The cash injection has attracted interest from top US players such as Phil Mickelson and Anthony Kim.

The 2.5-million dollar Hong Kong Open, one of Asia's most prestigious events, is celebrating its 50th edition with previous winners including Greg Norman, Tom Watson, Ian Woosnam and Padraig Harrington.

AFP

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