Rafa Cabrera-Bello set the clubhouse target as Rory McIlroy moved inside the top ten in the BMW PGA Championship.
Spain's Cabrera-Bello had looked set to challenge Thomas Björn’s overnight total of ten under par when he eagled the fourth.
However, three bogeys in four holes approaching the turn checked his progress and he set the clubhouse target on six under after a round of 73.
With a swirling wind and intermittent rain making conditions difficult for the early starters, McIlroy covered the front nine of his second round at Wentworth Club in three over par.
That left McIlroy one under for the tournament with the halfway cut projected at that point to fall at level par, but just as he did in the recent Players Championship at Sawgrass, McIlroy rallied strongly on the back nine.
An eagle on the 12th for the second day running was followed by a bogey on the 13th, but birdies on the 15th, 16th and 18th gave McIlroy a 71 and halfway total of five under par.
And with overnight leader Björn starting his round with a bogey on the first, that was within four shots of the lead.
"I did not start off particularly well and made a mess of the seventh, but came back well and hit some quality shots on the back nine," said McIlroy, who thinned a bunker shot on the seventh to run up a double-bogey six on a hole he eagled on Thursday.
"Anything under par this morning was a decent score and to birdie three of the last four holes is pretty pleasing."
Sweden's Jonas Blixt - joint second in the Masters last month – was alongside McIlroy on five under following a 71.
