Clarke and Company Miss Paris Cut

Open champion Darren Clarke, on the other hand, paid a huge price for one nightmare hole — a quadruple-bogey eight at the seventh, his third last, that meant he missed the cut on four over, along with Michael Hoey.

The 43-year-old Ulsterman, playing his last tournament before he defends the Claret Jug at Royal Lytham in a fortnight, had been in 20th place as he stood on the tee. But his second shot found gorse and after taking a penalty drop he went into a bunker, came out short of the green and took three more from there.

Clarke dropped another stroke on the next, but his 76 was still four better than playing partner Paul Casey. For the former world number three that meant a second successive 80, as the shoulder dislocation he suffered while snowboarding at Christmas takes its toll. He made his exit in last place of the 155 players.

Peter Lawrie just sneaked into the weekend's action on three over after a 72, but Damien McGrane and Gareth Maybin were well off the pace on 12 over and seven over respectively.

At the top Marcel Siem led the Alstom French Open in Paris on Friday and had his title hopes boosted by a dramatic collapse from world number three Lee Westwood.

When Westwood chipped in at the 10th just after an 80-minute thunderstorm delay he was in a tie for third place, but he took penalty drops on three of the next five holes - once from heavy rough and twice from water - in dropping five shots. He did come back with a birdie on the short 16th, but a two-over-par 73 left him seven adrift of Siem.

Winner of the World Cup with Bernhard Langer in 2006, Siem has had only one European Tour victory in approaching 300 starts. But only a fortnight after going close on home soil at the BMW International Open back-to-back 68s put the 31-year-old in the driving seat heading into the weekend.

He double-bogeyed the 17th immediately after the resumption on play at 5pm, but then covered the front nine in a superb four-under 32 with birdies at the first, third, fifth and seventh to lead Sweden's Alexander Noren by one. Soren Hansen of Denmark and South Africa's George Coetzee are two shots back on four under.

At least Westwood was still in it after his horror stretch over the same four holes that cost him four strokes on the opening day.