Hampshire golfers Justin Rose and Matt Blackey scraped through the halfway cut at the Benson and Hedges International Open by the skin of their teeth at The Belfry yesterday.

And Richard Bland joined them last night after looking odds-on to extend a grim run of missed cuts.

Most comfortable of the area's golfers was Gary Emerson who began the day five over but blazed the birdie trail through his last nine holes for a 70 and a halfway total of one over - enough to lift him into the top 40.

The Broadstone tournament professional rattled off six birdies, four in a row between the 14th and 17th holes.

Rose was looking to get in among the leaders after a 72 on Thursday but his thoughts turned to survival after he bogeyed the second then double-bogeyed the par five third where he found the water.

At three over, he was one outside the projected cut mark, but The Belfry provides one of the toughest tests of the European PGA season, and as scores began to rise through the day, both Rose and Blackey came back to the safety mark.

Rose birdied the ninth, gave the shot back at the 15th and parred his way home for a 75 and a three-over aggregate which was right on the cut.

Hayling Islander Blackey, who now lives in Bassett, played the back nine in three under on Thursday night to join a small group of first round players in red figures.

He needs a good finish here this week to move up from a lowly 117th in the order of merit and a first round 71 was a terrific launching pad. He found the going tougher yesterday but still looked in decent shape going to his penultimate hole, the eighth, standing at one over.

That's where his troubles really started. A double-bogey six left him three over and in danger of missing the cut by one but, like Rose, he got an unexpected reprieve.

Stoneham clubman Bland was going nowhere but home as got halfway through his second round at six over, but birdies at the first, second and fifth holes gave him a chance of staying for the last two days which he took by parring his way home.

Padraig Harrington, who signed away his chances of winning this tournament a few years ago when he wrongly endorsed an incorrect scorecard, was in the driving seat at nine under.

Brokenhurst Manor golfer Martin Le Mesurier was in joint second place at halfway stage of the Tessali Metaponto Open in Italy. The former Hampshire champion was ten under after rounds of 68 and 66, only one behind leader Greig Hutcheon from Scotland.