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Shane Lowry tops the leaderboard at the halfway stage of the ISPS Handa Wales Open after a flawless second round 65 at The Celtic Manor Resort, but admitted his position was something of a surprise.
The Clara man, who has recorded all three of his top-ten finishes this season on British soil, carded six unanswered birdies to move one ahead of first round leader Joost Luiten and big-hitting Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts on nine under par.
The 2012 winner Thongchai Jaidee and Italy’s former Ryder Cup star Edoardo Molinari are a shot further back on seven under, while one of Europe’s Team members for next week’s contest at Gleneagles, Jamie Donaldson, maintained his chances of becoming the first Welsh winner of his National Open with a second round 67 that left him five under.
The 27 year old Lowry’s four previous visits to the 2010 Ryder Cup venue had yielded only one made cut when he finished 39th four years ago, and after his round the two-time European Tour winner said: “I'm pretty happy. I've never, ever done well here before, so to be leading after two rounds is nice.
“There is still a long way to go in the tournament but I'm really looking forward to the weekend.
“I didn't drive it that good yesterday but still shot a decent score. I drove it a lot better today, drove it a lot straighter and gave myself a lot of chances and rolled in a few putts, so it was nice.
“I felt like coming over that I could give it a go this week. I was around tenth going into the back nine on Sunday last week, and similar the week before in Switzerland. If I can get myself in a good position come the back nine this weekend, again, hopefully I can give it a go.”
The 28 year old Luiten finished fourth in the 71° OPEN D'ITALIA Presented by DAMIANI and fifth in the defence of his KLM Open title last week and said: “I’m happy. It was tough today because the greens were very soft compared to yesterday with all the rain they had last night, and with the back pins, even seven irons spun back four or five yards, and it was tough to fly them all the way to the back.”
Colsaerts has not won since the Volvo World Match Play Championship in 2012 which secured his Ryder Cup place that year, but eagled the par five 18th for the second day running in his round of 68.
"It would mean a lot to win again after two years and struggling the first few months of the season," Colsaerts said. "Today I started very nicely but made two silly mistakes in the middle of the round and I almost lost it but it was nice to hole that putt on the last. It was about 35 feet with eight feet of break."
Ryder Cup wild cards Stephen Gallacher and Lee Westwood experienced differing results but similar emotions.
While Gallacher headed home in relaxed mood despite seeing his preparations cut short by missing the halfway cut, Westwood was equally happy that a battling performance ensured he would have two more rounds to get his game into shape for Gleneagles.
"Yesterday was quite tough," Gallacher admitted after a round containing two birdies - both on par fives - and one bogey. "It was tough to get going and get my head around it but today was a lot better. I was maybe trying a wee bit too hard yesterday and still thinking about next week.
"I feel good, I'm physically and mentally good so I am really looking forward to next week. I'll get up the road this afternoon and relax this weekend and maybe play nine holes with Thomas (Björn) on Monday morning. I've done my preparation for it and I just want to get up there and get going."
Westwood had also not played competitively since bowing out of the FedEx Cup play-offs after the first event, but recovered from an opening 73 with a 69 which featured two crucial birdies in the last four holes.
"I needed a couple more rounds," Westwood said. "I was not particularly competitive yesterday, it was pretty scratchy, but today was more solid. A few iffy shots but it was nice to finish with two birdies in the last four holes to ensure being here for the weekend and two more competitive rounds.
"I have been working on my game and been in the gym quite a lot, but I'm not quite match fit. I had three weeks off and you lose your sharpness."
Team-mate Björn, who played alongside Gallacher, added a 69 to his opening 71 to lie two under par, with Donaldson’s 67 most impressive of the Gleneagles-bound quartet.
