Dutchman Joost Luiten claimed a share of the lead on the second day of the Open de España at PGA Catalunya Resort on Friday.
The three-time European Tour winner birdied the 542 yard par five seventh despite a warning for slow play, and picked up another shot on the ninth - his final hole - to card a second round of 69 and join England's Eddie Pepperell on five under par.
Pepperell had carded an opening 68 to claim a one shot lead overnight and was five shots clear of the field when, after starting on the back nine, he birdied the tenth and 11th and eagled the 12th.
However, he then ran up a double-bogey six on the 14th and bogeyed the 18th to be out in 35, with two birdies and two bogeys on the front nine meaning the 23 year old had to settle for a 71.
"The game's been pretty good for two days and five under puts me in a really nice spot for the weekend," said Pepperell, who finished 76th on The Race to Dubai in his rookie season last year.
"I expect to be caught today but I'm not too worried, if I keep doing what I'm doing I hope to have a shot at it come Sunday afternoon.
"It was a great start and I hit some really nice shots early. I had three ten footers for birdie, birdie and eagle and I holed them all. But it was an up and down day for me. I hit some good shots in the early part of the round, but there were also some poor ones.
"Unfortunately, I made a double bogey where I played aggressively and it didn't come off. I didn't get the pace of the greens and had a couple of three putts when I bombed my first past the hole."
Francesco Molinari was a shot off the lead after six birdies and one bogey gave him a round of 67, the lowest score of the week so far, with Miguel Angel Jiménez on two under following a 73.
“I’m very happy. It’s a very tough, demanding golf course and five under after two rounds is very good,” said Luiten.
“I made a nice birdie to finish off. The ninth is not an easy hole and a birdie is a real bonus on that hole.
“It’s good to see your name up there. It’s a very difficult track, especially in the afternoon when the wind picks up, so we’ll see where it stands at the end of the day, but I’m in a good position for the weekend.”
