Pelle Edberg made his assault on the Norwegian Challenge leaderboard with a three under par 69 in the second round.
At nine under the Swede is the clubhouse leader, while Austrian Roland Steiner, who had an eight under par 64 in the first round, is among the afternoon starters.
Daniel Vancsik of Argentina also had a productive morning, returning a five under par 67 to reach seven under overall, a score shared with Sweden’s Victor Almstrom, who has had rounds of 67 and 70.
Spaniard Francis Valera (70) and Englishmen James Hepworth (69) and Lloyd Kennedy (67) are a further shot back at six under.
Edberg was one over after ten holes but went birdie-eagle to kick-start his round, then added two more birdies – one with a fine putt at the last – against one bogey.
“I was good off the tee and good with my irons, but my wedges were terrible,” said the 32 year old, who is currently 66th in the Challenge Tour Rankings. “I made a few putts inside ten feet and three under is a decent score.
“Another nine under for the weekend would be nice, but we will see what happens this afternoon as there could be some good scores. I just need to sort out my wedges and I will have a few more chances.
“The course is good – there are some tough tee shots and the greens are firming up nicely now.”
Vancsik was three under at the turn courtesy of four birdies against one bogey, and he picked up two more shots on the way back.
“I’m playing very well and from tee to green I was great,” he said. “I had four chances for eagle today but the greens are very difficult to read. If you put the ball on the fairway you have a lot of chances.
“Today I didn’t read the greens so well, but I’ve put myself in a very good position. It’s nice to be up there. It’s important to have a chance going into the weekend and feel a bit of pressure.”
Almstrom said: “I played solid today, although my putter wasn’t as hot as yesterday. Overall it was good. I hit my driver well, and it’s been a while. That’s been one of the main things for me this season as I haven’t hit it that well.
“But the last two days it’s been going straight and it’s easier to make birdies from the fairways than from the rough. You have to stay patient on this course. If you drive the ball well you’ll have a lot of opportunities to make birdies, but you have to make those birdies.
“I’ve been working with my coach on a few mental things and it seems to be paying off. I’ll be talking to her later on today to talk about the weekend.”
Home hope Espen Kofstad followed up an impressive 67 with a more disappointing 75, while young Norwegian amateur Kristoffer Ventura, who played in the Junior Ryder Cup last year, will make the cut following two rounds of 70.
