Colin Montgomerie survived a frustrating day on and off the course yesterday but was still able to strengthen his challenge for the Players Championship.

Playing partner John Daly, who had posted an 83 in his first round, withdrew with a hip injury, leaving the Scot and Andrew Magee to play as a two-ball that was repeatedly delayed at Sawgrass, near Jacksonville, Florida. Then, after prising five birdies from his opening 12 holes to share the lead, three shots were shed down the stretch for a round of 70 that should have been much better.

His mood was not helped when, later, at a media conference, an American television reporter repeated a question that had already been answered. There was a brief exchange between the two and Europe's No.1 immediately cut short the interview.

The spat was later screened on local TV, damaging his image and and risking further abuse from the galleries. By now, Montgomerie must know that many of the media representatives in the United States know little or even less about golf and be able to field their questions with more diplomacy.

Montgomerie, who nevertheless took just 27 strokes on the greens, lamented: ''I haven't holed a putt of more than five feet over two days. You can't compete if you are not holing putts here.

''Overall, I am playing well, I have a good record here and am confident I will be there at the weekend.''

Starting his round on the back nine, with a capricious breeze creating a very thin dividing line between bogeys and birdies, his confidence was reinforced when he laid a sand wedge dead on the 358-yard twelfth. Another birdie followed an the par-five sixteenth, where he exploded from a bunker to four feet.

All the intensive practice with short-game expert Dave Pelz was rewarded on the third, where his tee shot came up five yards short of the green, leaving a 30-foot pitch, which was swiftly assessed then caressed into the hole.

Birdies on those first three holes on the back nine carried him into a tie for the lead, but his flirtation with the leaderboard was all too brief. A wedge approach at the fourth was struck too firmly and ended through the green on a grassy knowl.

From there, he chipped down through the green and almost found water - and it took another deft touch to limit the damage to just one dropped shot.

He was also lucky to escape with a bogey on the next, where he edged his drive into water and then needed a 4-iron and two putts to stay at three-under par.

His challenge receded further when he found sand on the 219-yard sixteenth and failed to salvage par.

Yet, at two-under par and tied for thirteenth place, he is still well placed to make his move over the next two days and victory in this prestigious event would transport him from eighth to fifth in the world-rankings.

Wielding a hot putter, Japan's Joe Ozaki seized the lead, adding a 69 to his opening 68 for a seven-under par total 137.

However, heavyweight challengers are queuing up behind Ozaki, who has never won on the PGA Tour. Local hero David Duval, admitting beforehand to being under pressure to live up to expectations, showed no outward sign of strain by posting another majestic 69 to close within a shot.

That remarkable part-timer, Bruce Lietzke, who spends more time off tour than on it, is a further shot back in third place after closing with a 68.

However, the most significant move came from Ernie Els, who reeled off an eagle and four birdies for a 67, which earned him a share of fourth place with David Love III. Zimbabwe's Nick Price also shot a 67 to hoist himself back into contention after an opening 74.

On such a treacherous layout, where fortunes can change with a stroke, any of the 27 players under par at the halfway stage are potential winners, especially when the list includes the likes of Tiger Woods (71) and Lee Westwood (69), who lie just four shots off the pace.

The leader, Ozaki, had advised: ''You must be patient on such a course in these conditions.''

The mounting casualties showed many lacked that very quality and the cut came at plus four, which eliminated major winners Greg Norman, Tom Lehman, and Paul Azinger.

Nick Faldo took a step further in his rehabilitation by making his second cut of the year despite shooting 75.

The six-time major winner admitted: ''That was a goal this week. After playing well for 12 holes, I hit two bad tee shots into evil lies to drop three shots. After that I was struggling - there is no confidence in the bank yet.''

However, Welshman Ian Woosnam easily missed the cut despite an eight-shot improvement on his first day 80 - it kept him eight over and the likely cut-off was four over - while Seve Ballesteros is still seeking his first weekend action of the season after crashing to an 81 for a 13 over total of 157.

LEADERBOARD

(USA unless stated)

137 - N Ozaki (Japan) 69, 68

138 - D Duval 69, 69

139 - B Lietzke 71, 68

140 - D Love 70, 70, E Els (S Africa) 73, 67; C Strange 71, 69

141 - F Funk 72, 69; N Price (Zimbabwe) 74, 67; F Lickliter 71, 70; F Allem (S Africa) 74, 67; T Woods 70, 71

142 - J Sluman 70, 72; C Stadler 72, 70; P Mickelson 71, 71; C Montgomerie (GB) 72, 70; D Waldorf 71, 71; B Watts 68, 74; B Estes 68, 74; P Stewart 72, 70; S Hoch 72, 70; L Westwood (GB) 73, 69

143 - B Friend 74, 69; F Nobilo (N Zealand) 72, 71; H Sutton 69, 74; J Sindelar 72, 71; S Kendall 70, 73; B Fabel 73, 70

144 - B Hughes (Australia) 70, 74; D Hart 70, 74; L Mize 73, 71; J Maggert 73, 71; J Leonard 72, 72; J Parnevik (Sweden) 71, 73; S Elkington (Australia) 71, 73; C Perry 70, 74; J Gallagher 71, 73

145 - B Geiberger 74, 71; M A Jimenez (Spain) 76, 69; P Goydos 71, 74; G Hjertstedt (Sweden) 73, 72; G Kraft 71, 74; K Triplett 70, 75; M O'Meara 72, 73; T Tolles 72, 73; D Barron 72, 73; B Langer (Germany) 73, 72

146 - F Langham 71, 75; R Cochran 76, 70; S Gump 72, 74; D Frost (S Africa) 74, 72; N Faldo (GB) 71, 75; M Calcavecchia 76, 70; T Watson 75, 71; D Forsman 76, 70; R Damron 74, 72; C DiMarco 74, 72; S Stricker 73, 73

147 - B Cheesman 73, 74; J Furyk 71, 76; S Verplank 76, 71; V Singh (Fiji) 77, 70; B Andrade 73, 74; J Cook 78, 69; B Faxon 72, 75; J Huston 75, 72; D Clarke (GB) 77, 70

148 - J Carter 76, 72; J D Blake 77, 71; J Durant 74, 74; F Couples 77, 71; T Kite 76, 72; D Toms 73, 75; E Toledo (Mexico) 73, 75; C Parry (Australia) 75, 73; T Byrum 76, 72; J M Olazabal (Spain) 78, 70; M Brooks 71, 77; C Pavin 74, 74; S Pate 74, 74

MAIN NON-QUALIFIERS

149 - M Reid 75, 74; D Martin 72, 77; S Cink 74, 75; R Mediate 71, 78; L Janzen 75, 74; L Roberts 77, 72; B Chamblee 78, 71; S Appleby (Australia) 77, 72; T Tryba 78, 71; S Simpson 76, 73; G Norman (Australia) 72, 77; P Stankowski 74, 75; B Mayfair 70, 79; P Azinger 76, 73; T Lehman 75, 74; K Sutherland 75, 74

150 - B Crenshaw

151 - B Tway 75 76

152 - T Dodds (Namibia) 75, 77; I Woosnam (GB) 80, 72; C Franco (Paraguay) 78, 74; B Bates 74, 78; J Lewis 75, 77; B Jobe 73, 79; S Jones 74, 78

154 - W Grady (Australia)

155 - F Zoeller 76, 79

157 - T Armour 81, 76; JP Hayes 81, 76; S Flesch 78, 79; S Ballesteros (Spain) 76, 81; P Jacobsen 75, 82

Withdrew - J Daly