JOHN Bickerton and David Park face a battle to make the halfway cut today in the Barclays Scottish Open.

Worcestershire's Bickerton, who won the French Open earlier this month, ended up with a one-over-par 72 from the first round and was joint 81st overnight.

And Herefordshire's Park had to be content with joint 104th at Loch Lomond after a two-over-par 73.

Scot David Drysdale and Sweden's Johan Edfors led the way with six-under-par 65s.

Bickerton, 36, consistently hit par, apart from a bogey on the 15th hole, as he struggled to rise above average on the course.

Park, 32, birdied the par-four seventh hole after a bogey at the fourth but then dropped shots on the 12th and 16th.

He birdied the 17th in just two shots only to undo his good work on the final hole.

Last year's joint runner-up Darren Clarke and Miles Tunnicliff kept in touch one shot behind the leaders.

Three-time US Open champion Hale Irwin, 61, rolled back the years with a three-under-par 68 ahead of today's second round in Scotland.