Romain Langasque carded a second consecutive round of 69 to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at Andalucia Masters.
The Frenchman made a stunning eagle on the 17th to jump to four under and stand a shot clear of Ryder Cup star Matt Fitzpatrick, another Englishman Laurie Canter, Ryan Fox of New Zealand and Swede Sebastian Soderberg.
Meanwhile, US Open champion and world No 1 Jon Rahm missed the cut, adding a second-round 74 to his opening 78 for 152 – 14 shots back from the leader.
Langasque won his maiden European Tour title at last season’s Wales Open but had made just two of his last 10 cuts.
“I played really solid again today, like yesterday,” he said. “My long game is very good, my driving is really good.
“I didn’t make many mistakes, that was the key for today. I stayed really patient and had a lot of pleasure. That was the most important thing.”
© Agence France-Presse