British MastersIt wasn't just his score that set Brian Davis apart at the midway stage of the Dunlop British Masters yesterday. For the most part, those poor souls who trudged into the recorder's hut located beside the 18th green at the Forest of Arden bore the haunted look of desperadoes, those for whom life was not alone not a bed of roses, but more a bed of rusty nails with poisoned tips.

On a day when a wicked wind gusting up to 40 miles per hour whistled through the old trees, combining with firm fairways and greens to torture the majority of players, Davis - a 30-year-old Englishman who has made the US Tour his adopted home so far this season - escaped much, but not all, of the torment inflicted on others. The worst-afflicted was Ben Mason, one of four overnight leaders, who plummeted from the heights with a second-round 84 that saw him miss the cut.

In signing for a 71 for a 36-holes total of four-under-par 140, Davis assumed a one-stroke lead over Thomas Bjorn, Soren Hansen and David Howell. Only six players managed to better par at the midway point, and the cut - which fell on seven over - was the highest of the year on the European Tour. But it's all unfamiliar territory for Davis, who last led a PGA European Tour event after the first round of the 2001 Dunhill Links Championship. On that occasion he slipped back to finish tied-13th; but he is a much improved player since those days.

At the tail-end of last year, Davis - now ranked 81st in the world but once ranked as high as 45th - made the decision to play in the US Tour's qualifying school. He duly won it. So this season has been spent profitably securing his card for next year and in 14 tournaments in the States the player has accumulated $711,804, with a best-placed finish of tied-third in the Nissan Open.

"I had a couple of goals in America this season. One was to win before I came back to Europe or, if I didn't achieve that, then to do enough to get my card for next year, and I've done that. It's a learning experience over there," said Davis, who is making his first appearance of the season on the European Tour.

However, he intends to play in Europe for the next 10 weeks before heading back Stateside.

Davis has always had a reputation for being a player obsessed with golf. "I live and die by the sword, I always have," he conceded. "Sometimes it gets the better of me and sometimes it helps me. I'm trying to control that a bit more . . . there was a time when, if something went wrong, it would have been eating away at me for ages. I'm very competitive, but I've now learned that there is a time and a place where you have to say 'hey, relax'."

What happened as he came toward the midway stage of yesterday's second round served as a prime example of Davis's new maturity. On the 16th, his seventh hole, he missed a two-footer for par; but worse was to follow on the 17th, where his drive found the left rough. However, he proceeded to block his next shot into the water.

"No panic," thought Davis, hoping to get up and down to save par. Only he then put his wedge approach into the water as well. He ended up signing for a triple-bogey eight, something that in the old days would have signalled the unravelling of his round.

This time, though, Davis's response was to cover the front nine (his homeward run) in 33 strokes, featuring four birdies and a lone bogey. That only dropped shot the player deemed to be "a great bogey" because he put his drive right up beside the trees and had to play a lob-wedge left-handed simply to move it.

Ironically, another player who has shown greater maturity was one of those snapping at his heels. Bjorn shot a best-of-the-day 68 for 141, to be one behind Davis.

"I screwed the right head on this morning. It was important to go out and battle it out," said the Dane. "It was never going to be the prettiest golf in these conditions but I felt I kept my momentum all the way, did all the right things. It was just a case of trying to eliminate mistakes all day and I succeeded."

Bjorn reached the depths of despair during last year's Smurfit European Open when he retired midway through the first round, citing demons raging inside his head. "I think I've screwed the right head on pretty much every day since mid-summer last year. I don't think there is any time when I feel I go out and am too hard on myself," said Bjorn.

The proof of that self-assessment will no doubt come over the weekend, when players will again have to contend with strong winds and a rock-hard course.

Forest of Arden Second round

140 - B Davis 69 71

141 - S Hansen (Den) 70 71, D Howell 69 72, T Bjorn (Den) 73 68

143 - S Webster 72 71, M Campbell (Nzl) 73 70

144 - S Dyson 71 73, P Baker 71 73

145 - R Green (Aus) 72 73, O Wilson 72 73, P Sjoland (Swe) 71 74, I Woosnam 74 71, A Cabrera (Arg) 70 75, S Drummond 70 75, Ms Fraser (Aus) 73 72, R Finch 70 75

146 - J Haeggman (Swe) 73 73, Darren Clarke (NIrl) 74 72, B Lane 70 76, R Derksen (Ned) 71 75, B Rumford (Aus) 72 74, M Lafeber (Ned) 73 73, D Drysdale 72 74, A McLardy (Rsa) 70 76, D Lynn 69 77, C Cevaer (Fra) 72 74, M Ilonen (Fin) 73 73, P Broadhurst 73 73, A Tadini (Ita) 72 74, R Chapman 73 73

147 - R Sterne (Rsa) 73 74, B Dredge 74 73, M Brier (Aut) 74 73, F Andersson Hed (Swe) 74 73, K Eriksson (Swe) 73 74, S Dodd 70 77, C Montgomerie 72 75, P Golding 73 74, J Lucquin (Fra) 74 73, P Fulke (Swe) 70 77, R Karlsson (Swe) 74 73

148 - H Stenson (Swe) 77 71, S Khan 71 77, J Remesy (Fra) 75 73, Gary Murphy (Irl) 75 73, E Canonica (Ita) 74 74, R Rock 72 76, M Roe 75 73, J Skold (Swe) 74 74

149 - Graeme McDowell (NIrl)74 75, Stephen Gallacher 71 78, G Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 75 74, L Westerberg (Swe) 72 77, A Marshall 72 77, Damien McGrane 72 77

150 - N O'Hern (Aus) 74 76, P Archer 75 75, S Kjeldsen (Den) 75 75, J Spence 75 75, M Foster 76 74, R Coles 74 76, S Torrance 76 74, S Manley 79 71, G Orr 76 74, G Bourdy (Fra) 75 75, S Little 72 78

151 - M Maritz (Rsa) 74 77, I Garrido (Spa) 78 73, Paul McGinley 72 79, M Olander (Swe) 74 77, F Molinari (Ita) 73 78, T Price (Aus) 72 79, B Teilleria (Fra) 74 77, I Garbutt 74 77, L Westwood 76 75, I Poulter 75 76, A Coltart 74 77

MISSED CUT

152 - L Oosthuizen (Rsa) 75 77, A Forsyth 80 72, S Scahill (Nzl) 74 78, R Jacquelin (Fra) 79 73, T Dier (Ger) 74 78, J Donaldson 74 78, N Dougherty 73 79, N Fasth (Swe) 75 77 153 - M Siem (Ger) 71 82, P Lawrie 78 75, P Casey 73 80, J Kingston (Rsa) 75 78, S O'Hara 77 76, P Hedblom (Swe) 76 77, David Higgins (Irl) 74 79, S Little 77 76, M Eliasson (Swe) 79 74, A Hansen (Den) 74 79, G Evans 74 79, P Fowler (Aus) 77 76, Peter Lawrie (Irl) 77 76, P O'Malley (Aus) 74 79, D Carter 73 80, S Hurd 77 76, W Ormsby (Aus) 75 78, R Russell 78 75, B Mason 69 84 154 - G Houston 79 75, M Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 78 76, A Wall 76 78, J Moseley (Aus) 75 79, T Whitehouse 78 76 155 - J Lomas 76 79, J Bickerton 77 78, P Hanson (Swe) 74 81, A Oldcorn 75 80, G Emerson 75 80, F Henge (Swe) 74 81, F Delamontagne (Fra) 76 79 156 - C Schwartzel (Rsa) 76 80, E Romero (Arg) 74 82, J Axgren (Swe) 75 81, K Ferrie 79 77, S Luna (Spa) 79 77, R Bland 78 78, M Mackenzie 75 81, M King 76 80, S Wakefield 75 81, J Lima (Por) 74 82 157 - J Sandelin (Swe) 73 84, N Zitny (Aut) 82 75, C Rodiles (Spa) 74 83, T Moore (Rsa) 78 79, J Lara (Spa) 80 77 158 - N Sato (Jpn) 79 79, J Backstrom (Swe) 78 80, P Gustafsson (Swe) 73 85, R Muntz (Ned) 76 82, M Tunnicliff 78 80 159 - G Storm 77 82, G Brand Jnr 81 78, D Fichardt (Rsa) 74 85, B Kennedy (Aus) 80 79 160 R Gonzalez (Arg) 77 83, P Edberg (Swe) 82 78 161 - G Havret (Fra) 82 79, L Slattery 76 85, L Brovold (Nor) 78 83, S Struver (Ger) 77 84, F Roca (Spa) 78 83, (x) J Findlay 83 78 162 - S Lyle 80 82, M Cayeux (Zim) 83 79 163 - A Groom (Aus) 80 83, (x) Rory McIlroy 82 81 164 - N Cheetham 81 83 165 - H Nystrom (Swe) 85 80.