Peter Lawrie reached the turn in 30 shots - after four birdies and an eagle on the front nine – only to bogey 12 to finish signing for a 64 at the CASTELLÓ MASTERS Costa Azahar in Spain equalling the second round scores of Alvaro Velasco of Spain and tournament leader, Peter Hedblom of Sweden.
Hedblom carded a seven under par round to open up a one stroke halfway lead at the at Club de Campo del Mediterráneo to reach nine under and hold a narrow lead over Spain's Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño, Italian Matteo Manassero and Scotland's Paul Lawrie.
Hedblom had three birdies on the way out and was on course for a spectacular finish when he picked up five shots in as many holes from the fourth. But at the ninth - his last - the three-time European Tour winner found trouble off the tee and ran up a bogey five.
"I think the longest par putt I had today was a tap-in," said the 40 year old. "Everything was going close and then one bad tee shot on the last. Still, in the lead with two days to go."
Hedblom admits this has been something of a frustrating season - he is currently 98th on The Race to Dubai, which would represent his lowest position since 2002. But he is optimistic that a good finish in Valencia can reignite his chances of reaching next month's Dubai World Championship.
In near-perfect conditions Fernandez-Castaño took the opportunity to shine on home soil with a five under par 66. The 30 year old from Madrid picked up three shots on his outward nine holes after starting at the tenth before birdieing the par five fourth and then converting from 30 feet at the ninth, his last.
Afterwards the former British Masters insisted his recent problems with the putter are behind him.
"At the moment, believe it or not, I'm quite confident with my putter," he said. "I can see the ball rolling where I want it so it's good.
"I'm playing well, I'm playing steady golf. Only one bogey on the first two rounds which is a bit of a surprise for me. Normally my rounds are a bit of a rollercoaster!
Paul Lawrie had been the joint first round leader with Ricardo Gonzalez, and the former Open Championship winner recovered from three early bogeys to record a one under 70.
Teenage sensation Manassero continued his remarkable rise to prominence with a composed round of 66, including a birdie at the 13th when he hit his approach to three feet.
José Maria Olazábal showed no signs of the health problems that have kept him off the course for most of the last year as he made the halfway cut with a three under par 68.
But Sergio Garcia struggled with his putter after a two-month break from the game and failed to make the weekend at the course where his father is the club professional following a 73.
Michael Hoey finished on Friday with a round of 70 for a five under par total.
Shane Lowry matched the score of 70 but is two shots further adrift on 3 under.
Paul McGinley carded an impressive 66 to move up to 2 under and joins Damien McGrane who recovered from a poor first round to sign for a 65 - and inside the cut.
Gareth Maybin fell back down the field after a 73 to finish one under par.
Simon Thornton of Team Ireland carded a round of 70 - with one birdie and no dropped shots - but not enough to make the cut at 3 over par and so returns from Castellon earlier than he would have hoped - at this stage of the season.
Despite having jumped one place in the Race to Dubai in the past week it now looks likely that Thornton will be returning to Final Qualifying at the PGA Catalunya in December having run of tournaments to keep up his battle.
At 141st place he needs to make at least ninety thousand euro to get inside 115th place for an automatic place for next season.
