Putting proved crucial at the Scottish Open in Loch Lomond as two of the three Indian contenders missed the cut solely on that account.

Jyoti Randhawa, placed as high as ninth after the first round which finished on the second morning, plummeted to tied 109th to miss the cut with a second round of six-over 77, while Jeev Milkha Singh [Images] was forced to take the weekend off after he fell short by one shot.

For the Chandigarh golfer, the bogey on the 15th was the crucial difference as he finished with a one-over 72 for the second round to end 70th.

The lone Indian making it to the weekend was young Shiv Kapur, who will now use it to tune up for the British Open next week. He knocked in a card of two-under 69 and made the cut on the line at tied 61st place with a total of one-under 141.

Beginning on the first hole, Kapur had birdies on the first, ninth, 12th and 13th while dropping shots on the fifth and 11th.

For Jeev, the heartbreak came on the 15th, when he bogeyed the hole, as he had earlier done on the first,10th, 11th and 13th. His birdies were on fourth, sixth, seventh and 14th and he needed 30 putts, despite making 13 of the fairways.

"That tells the story," said a disappointed Jeev, who finally gets a week off after 13 weeks on the trot.

Randhawa's tale was even worse as he birdied the 17th but bogeyed the third, eighth, 11th, 12th and 14th. The double bogey on the 13th meant he dropped five shots between 11th and 14th. Neither Randhawa nor Jeev are in action at the Open Championship next week.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke displayed the talents that make him one of the most gifted golfers to produce a marvellous second round of six under par 65 and move into a three-stroke lead.

His class was on display as he conjured seven birdies with a single bogey on a day of perfect conditions at Loch Lomond.

Sweden's Johan Edfors, Ireland's Damien McGrane and South Africa's Charl Schwartzel lead the chasing pack on eight under par, with Welshman Jamie Donaldson and Scotland's David Drysdale on seven under.

Playing alongside Colin Montgomerie and Jose Maria Olazabal, Clarke made a steady start but was in Montgomerie's shadow for their opening three holes as the Scottish fans' favourite flew out of the blocks with a run of birdie-birdie-eagle.

As Montgomerie slowed down, Clarke eased his way through the gears to find his optimum level, picking up shots on the third, sixth and ninth holes to get to the turn in three under. Another birdie on the 10th was cancelled out by the bogey on 11th, but Clarke was not to be denied the outright lead as he accelerated past Edfors, McGrane and Schwartzel at the head of the leaderboard with three birdies in his final five holes.

"I hit it really nicely today and gave myself an awful lot of chances," said Clarke. "I missed a few unfortunately but, overall, six under is pretty good."