British youngster Nick Dougherty responded to new European Ryder Cup captain BernhardLanger's namecheck by elbowing his way on to the top of theScandinavian Masters leaderboard.
The 21-year-old, last season's European rookie of the year, carded a five-under-par 67 to tie for the lead with fellow Britons and former Ryder Cup players Andrew Coltart and DavidGilford.
On Wednesday Dougherty was just one a string of youngsters Langer said he felt could make Europe's team next year at Oakland Hills and the Englishman responded with a near-faultlessdisplay -- showing he is fighting back from the glandular feverthat has contributed to five missed cuts in the last six events.
Dougherty, a member of Britain and Ireland's successful 2001Walker Cup team before turning professional, discovered he hadthe illness in May and tried to battle on, despite his doctor'sadvice to stay at home and rest. However, he missed six cuts outof seven before finishing 66th in last week's Irish Open.
His six birdies before finding sand and dropping a shot atthe 17th were a tribute to his determination -- and to aremarkable 17-hour sleep the night before.
"They call me 'the walking mattress' and I really cansleep," said the player who has been groomed by Nick Faldo.
Dougherty, who hopes to ensure his card with a good resultthis week and then think about taking a rest to aid hisrecovery, is determined to make Langer's team for next year andadded: "As badly as I've been doing lately to be 115th on theorder of merit, I can still break into the top 20 and I believeI've got the game to do it (make the 2004 team)."
Gilford birdied the last two holes late on to join Doughertyand Coltart, who had earlier led the way by virtue of a hotputter as he holed from 30ft and longer three times.
The top trio led by a stroke from Dutchman Maarten Lafeber,New Zealand's Stephen Scahill and Korean 19-year-old Kevin Na.
Last season's Asian rookie of the year Na can seal hisEuropean Tour card this week, but only with a victory afterfailing to take out affiliation membership of the tour when hemade his debut at the start of the season.
His earnings of 140,000 dollars so far, do not count towardsthe card because he failed to affiliate at the BMW AsianClassic, the first event on the European Tour calendar.
Langer and last week's winner Michael Campbell both shot70s.
Reuters