While team-mates Colin Montgomerie and Paul McGinley were battling to survive the halfway cut Harrington crashed from seven under to only three under, dropping shots at the 16th and 18th and then taking a double-bogey seven on the long third.

Montgomerie bogeyed the 17th and 18th and double-bogeyed the first to stand five over and playing partner McGinley was alongside him.

That put them joint 100th of the 129 players left in following the disqualification yesterday of Ian Woosnam, who walked off after two balls went in the lake on his final hole, and the withdrawals of Maarten Lafeber and Roger Chapman.

Only the leading 70 and ties at the completion of the second round qualify for the final 36 holes this weekend and midway through the morning the cut-off mark was two over par.

Last year the axe fell at four under and Ian Poulter led at halfway at 16 under, but the Gut Larchenhof course has been toughened up considerably since then and there was a testing wind.

Poulter, another of the cup side, was among the later starters and he had his work cut out this time to stay alive in the £2m (€2.9m) event.

He managed only a four over 76 yesterday, just one better than Miguel Angel Jimenez – first and second in the last two weeks.