PORTUGAL'S Jose-Filipe Lima, having double-bogeyed the short eighth, quickly forgot it by grabbing an eagle on the 556-yard 11th at the BMW International Open in windy Munich yesterday.

It took him into the lead on his own, but only briefly, as Fasth two-putted the same hole to join him on 11 under.

Dougherty found heavy rough and a bunker at the 14th and with a bogey fell three behind.

But at least he was still in it - Ernie Els and Paul Casey looked too far back at four under after rounds of 74.

Fasth bogeyed the 14th, but when Lima followed a birdie at the 15th with a bogey two holes later he was caught by former Ryder Cup man Thomas Levet, who had had four birdies in six holes.

They were 11 under and Fasth 10 under, but Dougherty's bogeys at the 14th and 17th sent him tumbling to seven under and only joint seventh. Dougherty had previously found himself only one shot off the lead when Swede Niclas Fasth hit trouble .

And the Swede's problems also re-ignited Bernhard Langer's hopes of capturing the one German title to have eluded him during his career.

Fasth, two ahead of compatriot Peter Hanson overnight, managed just 38 for the front nine. And it could have been worse. Having failed to get up and down from a bunker on the short eighth, he found more sand off the tee at the 557-yard ninth and went from there into the hay left of the fairway. A search did find the ball, but he had to take a penalty drop and in the end did well to get out with a bogey six.

While that 38 was still three better than Hanson, who never recovered from bogeying the first three holes, Dougherty was out in 35, making up for bogeys at the third and fifth with birdies at the second, sixth and eighth.

Europe's top two players at the US Open last week - Fasth finished fourth and Dougherty seventh after coming through a qualifier first - were 10 under par and nine under respectively, while Lima shared second place with the Liverpool golfer.

Dougherty is chasing a win to guarantee a spot in the Open. "I'm desperate to be at Carnoustie, not just because of the way I've been playing but also because I love the course, " he said.

Fasth said there was a big difference between the course in Munich and the course on which the US Open was held. "Good play here is rewarded with birdies and good play at Oakmont was rewarded with pars, " he said.

"But the challenge is effectively the same in that you need a very, very good score to win."

Scot Alastair Forsyth was just one further back after a best-of-the-day 67 and alongside him were Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez and 47year-old South African David Frost. As for Langer, he had been furious with himself after dropping two shots in the last three holes for a 68.

But, with the wind picking up strength after he finished, he was not out of the hunt as he feared.

"I hate to finish bad, " he said. "You come off and you are mad at yourself. We work so hard for three hours and then you give it away in 30 minutes." What made it worse was that Langer considers Eichenried's 319-yard 16th and long 18th the two easiest holes. But first he misjudged the wind and spun a pitch into the lake, then he hooked a drive into more water.

He had been 135th after an opening 76 on Thursday, but made the cut by the skin of his teeth with a second-round 66. When he played the first 15 holes in a superb six under, he had moved into a tie for sixth place.

Three hours later, however, he was back into a tie for eighth with playing partner Phillip Price, who also shot 68.