Jorge Campillo will take a commanding four-shot lead into the weekend at the 2024 Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters as he goes in search of his first home victory.
The local favourite started the day two shots off the lead after opening up with a spotless 64 on Thursday but soon took over at the top courtesy of a hole-out eagle from the 11th fairway at his second hole of the day.
And once he had hit the front, the three-time DP World Tour winner made himself impossible to catch as he fired five birdies and stayed bogey-free to head into the weekend on 15 under par.
Although Campillo did briefly see his lead reduced to just two strokes during the afternoon, no-one in the chasing pack managed to prevent him from having a four-shot cushion at the halfway stage.
England's Dan Brown was Campillo's nearest challenger at 11 under after following up his opening 63 with a 70 in round two.
First-round leader Julien Guerrier was among the three-way tie for third another shot back alongside Scott Jamieson and Jordan Smith.
Starting from the tenth tee on Friday, Campillo managed to get up and down for a valuable par save at his first hole before pitching in for a magnificent eagle on the 11th to reach the top of the leaderboard.
A tap-in birdie at the par-five 14th followed before Campillo saved par from 12 feet on the short 17th to keep his card clean.
After taking advantage of the long second hole to get to 12 under, Campillo treated the crowd following him to a putt-of-the-week contender as he holed from 56 feet at the par-three fourth for another birdie, receiving huge roars from his adoring fans.
The 38-year-old picked up his fourth birdie of the day on the long sixth before a nine-foot putt at the last saw him finish on a high as he signed for a sparkling 65.
He said: "I made a good putt on ten to save par and then the eagle on 11 was a great way to set the tone.
"It was a tough pitch shot but that’s the best part of my game. I hit it perfectly and it went in the hole, which was nice.
"I’m feeling good and although I have played a lot of events, I feel like I am playing better recently, and I just love playing golf. I don’t feel too tired and shooting 15 under over 36 holes doesn’t feel tiring for me.
"I’ve been putting the ball in play off the tee, hitting my irons great and then making the short putts.
"Last year at the KLM Open I was in this position after 36 holes and ended up finishing 29th, so I know there is a lot of golf left to play and I don’t know what’s going to happen over the weekend."
After finishing his round, Campillo joined the commentators in the box during the afternoon and expressed his desire to secure a first victory on home or even European soil.
He said: "It would be nice. I have never won in Europe, always in Africa or Asia. Yeah, it would be great, definitely.
"Still a lot to go but it would be nice to win in your home country."
