This so-called City of Sails had more than enough wind yesterday to launch an armada. But the 25 mph easterly was less welcome at Gulf Harbour where a mean, difficult course tormented competitors in the second round of the 44th World Cup.

It meant that by the halfway stage, only seven countries were under par, compared with 18 after the first round. And with Nick Faldo lifting England to the top of the leaderboard on six-under, champions Ireland remained very much in contention, five strokes back in a share of sixth place.

There were scathing comments about the conditions. "We got screwed by a terrible golf course," was the surprisingly bitter reaction of New Zealand's Greg Turner. Ian Woosnam complained, "I didn't enjoy it at all", and Germany's Sven Struver described the course as "ridiculous".

Still, Colin Montgomerie shot a best-of-the-day 69, while Faldo was the only player to keep a bogey off his card, with an exemplary round of 70 to lead the individual table on 138 - six under par.

One was reminded of the Irish Open at Killarney seven years ago and the bitter complaints from players about the difficulty of the 17th hole, known locally as Dr Billy O's folly.

The exception was Faldo, then at the peak of his formidable powers. Asked what he thought of it, he replied: "Sure it's difficult, but it's there and it's playable." On being asked whether he considered yesterday's pin positions to be too difficult, he replied: "They're very difficult, but only if you put the ball in the wrong place. The slopes don't move overnight."

That sort of bulldog attitude, allied to a solid 71 from David Carter, was what pushed England to the fore in remarkable circumstances. Indeed an indication of fluctuating fortunes was that the US team of John Daly and John Verplank crashed from a position of 10 under par at the top of the leaderboard after 10 holes, down to one over at the end of play.

Sweden also suffered grievously. Third overnight on six under par, they dropped to a share of 16th position on seven over: Patrik Sjoland shot a 77 while Mathias Gronberg slumped to an 80. And the course finally caught up with the 25-year-old Japanese, Yashaharu Imano, who had the effrontery to shoot a course record 64 on Thursday.

Imano was going along nicely at one under par for his round and nine under overall until he came to the brutal, 466-yard dog-leg 16th, which was playing across and into the fresh wind. There, he carded a double-bogey six, which was followed by another double-bogey at the next. Now he was happy to settle for a 75 while Japan dropped down to a share of eighth place.

But the American collapse was the most dramatic. A gentle slide, in the form of a bogey from Verplank at the long 11th, became a veritable avalanche when, downwind, Daly drove over the green and into the Pacific for a double-bogey at the 340-yard 12th. And he went on to take eight at the 14th (three hacks from rough) in a homeward 43 for a round of 77.

He then beat a hasty retreat, leaving Verplank to face the music. "The back nine hurt us, no mistake, but we're not out of it," he said. "There's a lot more holes left in this tournament."

Montgomerie was prepared for squalls when he and Andrew Coltart drove off the first. "We agreed that one under par for the day would put us right back into contention," said Monty. And that's how it worked out, with Coltart's only joy on the greens coming at the last where a 20-foot birdie putt gave him a 74.

But Faldo was the man of the moment, not least because of an undignified tumble from 17th down to 66th in the world rankings this year. He carded a birdie at the long second, where he chipped to 12 feet, and another at the long sixth where he pitched dead.

From then on, he produced 12 marvellous pars, reminiscent of the final round at Muirfield in 1987 when, on the way to his first British Open triumph, he had 18 straight pars.

Meanwhile, there was another, heartbreaking aspect to a fascinating day's play. It concerned 29-year-old Dutch professional Ruben Wechgelaer, whose score for 36 holes rose to an embarrassing 28 over par after he added an 81 to an opening 90 on his World Cup debut.

Having observed Wechgelaer's solid technique on the testing back nine, it became clear that his poor scoring was largely the product of a crippling lack of confidence. And there were reasons. For instance, he and his playing partner, Hayo Bensdorp, had their clubs stolen in transit from Amsterdam to Heathrow and had to borrow replacement sets from the professional shop here.

Then there was Wechgelaer's financial problem. "Since coming here, I lost my credit card in a hotel cash machine," he said with a weak grin. "I don't want to make excuses, but it's hard to enjoy yourself when you shoot 90 and 81. All I can do is try my best." Back home in Amsterdam, he has been attempting to eke out a living on his local circuit, with the help of sponsors. They will hardly be impressed with these scores, but Wechgelaer can take considerable pride from his three closing pars yesterday, including the fearsome 16th, which he pitched and putted.

Still, it failed to lift his spirits. "I'm really disappointed," he said. "Hayo and me came here hoping to get into the top 15 which would exempt us for next year. I guess we can say goodbye to that now."

Sadly, with a team score of 37 over par, it would appear to be a reasonable guess.