The only two members of Europe's Ryder Cup side competing in Switzerland went into the third round in first and second place.

Spain's Miguel Angel Jimenez, despite his gruelling schedule lately, took the three-shot halfway lead yesterday with a 10-under-par 61 that was the lowest round of his European Tour career.

And given that the first of the 535 events he has played was way back in 1983 it was some performance by the 46-year-old.

Leading the pursuit when play resumed at Crans-sur-Sierre were Italians Edoardo Molinari and Matteo Manassero.

Molinari is the 29-year-old given a Ryder Cup wild card by Montgomerie last Sunday following his memorable victory in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.

If either he or Jimenez win tomorrow it would continue a remarkable run by Monty's men - two weeks ago Swede Peter Hanson lifted the Czech Open and seven days before that German Martin Kaymer captured his first major title at the US PGA Championship.

But trying to stop them is Manassero, just 17 and trying to become the youngest winner in European Tour history.

This is just his sixth event on the circuit since turning professional at the Italian Open in May and a top-five finish will probably be good enough to enable him to earn a card for next season without going to the dreaded qualifying school.

Jimenez knows how tough that is - if he can remember back that far.

The Malaga golfer needed four attempts before making it through in 1988, but has simply got better and better as time has gone on since then.

Ten of his 17 tour victories have come since he turned 40 and never has he come as close to shooting the circuit's first 59 as he did in his second round.

After two eagles and six birdies in his first 15 holes Jimenez needed two more birdies. But, like Ross Fisher at the Irish Open just over a month ago, he parred the last three for 61.

"I was thinking 59 a little bit and I tried, but it was still a great round and a beautiful day in the mountains," he said.

This is his fifth week of playing in a row. He did not plan to play last week's tournament in Scotland, but made a late decision to enter because there was a danger he could be knocked out of an automatic place in Montgomerie's team.

That worry was ended with a superb third-place finish and now he has his sights on his first win in Crans in this his 22nd successive visit to the Alpine resort.

Molinari, meanwhile, is hoping to make it back-to-back victories before he takes three weeks off to rest and then prepare for his cup debut at Celtic Manor on October 1-3.