Lee Westwood keeps in the hunt after putting display at Gleneagles

Aug 31 2008 Euan Mclean

LEE WESTWOOD found the answer to taming the Gleneagles greens he slammed earlier this week by hitting the ball so close he simply couldn't miss the hole.

After calling for the sodden putting surfaces to be dug up on Thursday the Englishman set about burning them up instead yesterday with a stunning round of 66 that puts him in the hunt for victory today.

Sitting pretty in a five-man pack on nine-under 210 - just two shots adrift of leader Gregory Havret and one behind second-placed Anthony Wall - Westwood's super show was almost as breathless as his back-peddling performance beside the 18th green yesterday. But yesterday he tried to turn the blame on journalists for supposedly blowing that cheap shot out of proportion as he said sorry publically to the suffering greens staff, who have done their best to cope with a horrendous amount of rainfall over the last three weeks.

Westwood was eager to placate the Gleneagles staff but still admitted his surge up the leaderboard was inspired by pinpoint iron play rather than an improvement of the inconsistent greens.

He said: "I give my honest opinion and some people misinterpret that and think I'm whingeing about the greens when I wasn't. It was light-hearted and I was trying to be positive so they can move on.

"But I understand I'm the highest world-ranked golfer here and everything I say

Mailsport understands he made a personal apology to championship director Graeme Marchbank on Thursday after saying his kids could have designed the seventh green better. is going to be blown up a little bit. The only thing I regret is the press release put out by the Tour that insinuated I had a go at the greens staff which I didn't.

"They have done a fantastic job with the golf course, there's been nothing but praise from all the players. They have got them as good as they can get them.

"The greens are not great but I tried to turn that around by saying to myself I wasn't hitting it close enough.

"That's really where I've got to make my score here because you can't really rely on rolling the odd long one in.

"I hit a couple stiff today and another couple inside four feet and did well on the par fives."

Westwood's round was only bettered yesterday by the 65s of Wall - who rolled together a remarkable run of six birdies in a row on the back nine - and leading Scot Stephen Gallacher.

But while smiling Stephen joked the greens were the best he's ever seen after storming up the leaderboard to seven under, his country man Colin Montgomerie was in no mood for laughs as his hopes of landing a Ryder Cup wild card pick faded even further.

After a horror round of 76 sent him lurching back to one-over par he shrugged off the waiting reporters saying: "You've had quite enough out of me this week. Thank you very much."

With skipper Nick Faldo set to announce his two picks, Monty has done nothing to plead his case for inclusion.

So barring a huge surprise there will be no Scots in the Ryder Cup side for the first time since 1937.

Yet on a day when that dark prospect for Scottish golf will almost certainly become reality, we might be earning an honorary Scots success if Havret can add to his remarkable love affair with this country.

Last year the Frenchman lifted the Barclays Scottish Open title at Loch Lomond and is in great shape to add another big title today after consolidating his Friday night lead with a solid 69.

Havret, one clear of Wall on 11 under, admitted he fears a charge this afternoon from fired up Ryder Cup hopefuls such as Soren Hansen (nine under), Justin Rose (eight under) and Nick Dougherty (five under).

The trio are desperate to secure their places on the flight for Kentucky.

Havret said: "It's going to be a big hunt tomorrow especially with those Ryder Cup guys. It's going to be very open especially on this course and I heard the weather will be bad.

"But it's nice to be going into it with the lead."