The biggest Big Beast of all – John Daly, the 'Wild Thing' watches the competition with interest.

Montgomerie once again made clear his appreciation for the city and the golf course: "I feel very comfortable here. I won before here in 2005. My wife's here with me, I like the city and I feel very safe here, and it's amazing how one plays well in a place that you enjoy being in."

The others on –7 are Francesco Molinari, Marcus Fraser, Johan Edfors and Richard Sterne, one of yesterday's leaders. Neither Richard nor fellow-leader Liang Wencheng could repeat yesterday's excellence, but neither of them is out of the reckoning. Richard picked up one stroke, while Liang dropped one and is one of two players on –5.

Jeev Milkha Singh deserves mention for a round of 63. Starting at one-over, he struggled early with his direction, and had a few choice words with the stately trees that grace the 14th fairway on a visit to the deeper parts of the woods, but he saved par a number of times with some great putts and made a steady stream of birdies to get to seven-under, before a dropped shot on 8, his 17th, took him back to –6.