Westwood was not blaming that for his nightmare finish, which turned an outward 32 into a round of 75 and a four-over-par halfway total of 148. The cut was likely to fall at two or three over.

But he said: ‘‘When the fairways are as soft as this I think it’s shocking that we didn’t have placing on the first two days at least.

‘‘The balls were picking up mud on nearly every hole and you tell me whether that’s fair.’’

The Worksop golfer, who said he could not wait to get back home to wife Laurae who is expecting their first child in a fortnight, undid his outward half with four bogeys in five holes from the 11th.

He birdied the next to stand level par well inside the cut-off mark but standing on the 18th tee hit two drives into the lake that lines the entire left-hand side of the hole.

‘‘I hadn’t hit anything left all day until then,’’ stated Westwood. His fifth shot finished in rough by the green and while he was chipping and two-putting manager Andrew Chandler was already making arrangements for his journey home.

He does not know whether he will crossing the Atlantic again for the Masters.

The baby is due on April 7 third round day at Augusta but he will not be travelling unless it arrives several days early.

Meanwhile, little-known American Jerry Kelly led the race for the massive £770,000 first prize, adding a 66 to his opening 69 for a nine under aggregate of 135.

The Wisconsin golfer, yet to win on the US Tour, led by one from first day pacesetter Paul Azinger and by two from 1989 Masters runner-up Scott Hoch.

Tiger Woods was in joint eighth place at three under after an adventurous 69 which saw him go in the water for a double bogey five at the island green short 17th his eighth and then hit back with three straight birdies.

The world number one, in his last competitive outing before he tries to complete his major grand slam at the Masters, finished the day on three under par and still very much in the hunt.

Colin Montgomerie, meanwhile, found himself somewhere he rarely visits doing something he rarely does on the practice range working on his driving.

Tee shots into water on both the fifth and seventh holes stopped Montgomerie making the progress he was hoping for, but the Scot, third last year and runner-up to Fred Couples in 1996, was none too disconsolate after a second successive 71 left him seven adrift.

‘‘I have to sort my driving out and that’s unusual for me I’ve spent 10 years hitting fairways,’’ said Montgomerie.

‘‘But I know what I have to do and I have all afternoon to do it.’’

That was a sarcastic reference to a 7.20am tee-off, which meant he and wife Eimear received a 5.30am alarm call so that he could be ready in time.

They split at the end of last season, but she was there every step of the way for his rollercoaster ride in what is his last appearance before the Masters in two weeks’ time.

‘‘Round the greens is normally my weakness, but in these two rounds it’s been my strength,’’ he added.

‘‘I was all over the place and I needed a sense of humour.’’

That has not always been a strength either in the past, but it was on this occasion and caddie Alastair McLean was able to joke that he felt more like Seve Ballesteros’ caddie when Montgomerie started spraying his shots.

He actually got out of the two water holes dropping only one shot, bogeying the 466-yard fifth, but saving par on the third with a brilliant third to two feet.

Paul Lawrie crashed to a 78 and easily missed the cut on nine over, but Ulsterman Darren Clarke, having also opened with a 75, appeared to have saved himself by producing a 70. It put him on one over.

Padraig Harrington, two under overnight, was among the later starters and bogeyed two of his first three holes, while Ian Woosnam had to wait to see if two over was good enough to survive following a second successive 73.