WENTWORTH, England : Robert Karlsson of Sweden bagged a hat-trick of birdies over his last three holes to surge to the top of the leader board on day two of the European PGA Championship on Wentworth's West Course.

The 39-year-old followed up his first round 66 with another strong performance, scoring five birdies in his 69, to take him to nine under, two shots clear of overnight leader, Paul McGinley, as the Irishman began his second round.

Karlsson, recently in a vein of good form, made up for a bogey on the 15th hole, with a run of three birdies in the closing holes. "On the 15th, I had a bad lie," the Swede said. "My ball was in a sand-filled divot, but I hit three good approaches and had virtual tap-ins on the final three holes."

He added: "The conditions were different today. In fact, it was a bit easier, because yesterday was really bouncy and today the greens were a bit wetter, so they held the ball up more."

Karlsson hinted that he might have scored even lower, had luck favoured his putting. "I don't know how so many of my putts failed to drop," he said. "I putted just as well as yesterday."

One shot behind the Swede was 27-year-old Englishman, Oliver Wilson, after a second round 66, that included an eagle and four birdies.

But Wilson's compatriot Lee Westwood, currently third in the European Tour order of merit, had differing fortunes, when he was forced to retire feeling unwell after six holes of his second round.

Westwood, who had slumped to seven over by the time he called it quits, said: "I had a Chinese meal last night, but I don't think it's something I ate because I've got a bit of a sore throat as well as feeling rough. I think it's a virus of some sort.

"It started about eight last night and I was sick during the night and hardly got any sleep."

While Westwood headed back to his hotel room, fellow Ryder Cup luminary Colin Montgomerie was as wayward in his second round 75 as he was in his first round. The Scot, who at four over looked set to miss the cut for the final two rounds, may now also have moved further to the fringes of Ryder Cup selection.

Ryder Cup captain Nick Faldo has backed Montgomerie to recover his form in time for the clash with the Americans in Kentucky in September but that was of little consolation to the Scot.

"That's the furthest thing from my mind," he snapped when asked if Faldo's words had been encouraging. "I just didn't play well enough. It's one of those things - you get what you deserve in this game. End of story. I was not encouraged by anything today."

Last season's European number one Justin Rose was also headed out of the tournament after a 73 left him on five over.

"This is the game of golf," he said. "You've seen it thousands of times that players go through downs and this is a bit of a down for me right now.

"Anything working on the range is not translating to the course and it's frustrating whichever you look at it, but something will click and I'll get my confidence going."

- AFP /ls