Aaron Rai will carry a one shot lead into Saturday following an even par second round on a testing day at the 2020 Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
The 25-year-old was the overnight co-leader alongside fellow Englishman Jordan Smith and South African Dean Burmester at five under par at Galgorm Spa & Resort.
There was a 90 minute delay to day two before play even began due to early morning frost, with the first group heading out at 9.10am instead of their slated 7.40am start.
This meant there was a backlog on the schedule with the final threeball beginning their second round at 4.05pm, with 27 players set to finish off on Saturday morning.
To add to the delayed start, swirling winds and intermittent rain made low scoring difficult as only 12 players reached the clubhouse having shot red numbers on Friday.
Rai could not improve his overall score as he mixed four bogeys with four birdies, but it was enough for the 2018 Honma Hong Kong Open presented by Amundi winner to take the solo lead by one shot from Robert Rock, Swede Joakim Lagergren and Burmester.
"It was good. A bit of a mixed bag out there but I think it is to be expected, the course played so tough," Rai said.
"I think driving it is key around here with how thick the rough is and I think for most part I have driven it well the last few days. When I have had chances I have made a few putts as well. So probably a mix of driving and putting.
"It is so tightly bunched and doesn’t really take that much but probably a little bit of what has already happened this week.
"A few extra putts go in, also when I have been out of position, I have got up and down a few times, so it is just a couple shots being saved here and there coming into the weekend."
Rai and Smith were the only players not to card a bogey during the first round but the former lost that record at the opening hole to drop back to four under.
A birdie at the third returned him to co-leadership but when he dialled into four feet at the par three seventh and rolled in the putt for two, he was the outright leader.
Rai's advantage lasted one hole though, as he could not drain his par putt from the fringe to slip back to five under before carding another bogey at the ninth.
He picked up the shot immediately at the tenth and should have extended his lead when he got to the 17th green in two, only to three putt from 15 feet to slip back to four under.
However, he held his nerve to drain a birdie putt from 25 feet at the last to get back up to level par for the day and top of the leaderboard in Ballymena.
Rock, who claimed the winner's cheque when Shane Lowry won this event in 2009 as an amateur despite finishing second, continued his affinity with the Irish Open by recording a superb three under 67.
He traded a birdie at the second with a bogey at the sixth before the 43-year-old finished with a flurry of gains at the 15th, 17th and the last to catapult him into contention.
Overnight co-leader Burmester grinded his way back up to four under after bogeys at the sixth, 14th and 16th saw him fall to two under.
But the 31-year-old recorded his first birdie of the round at the penultimate hole before having a long eagle putt at the last for a tie for the lead, which he put into concessional range to sit one adrift.
Lagergren registered the round of the day with a four under 66 to soar into contention in County Antrim.
The Swede mixed six birdies with two bogeys at the turn to climb alongside Rock and Burmester just before the players were called in for bad light.
American John Catlin, South African Justin Harding, Australian Scott Hend and Scot Ewen Ferguson were in the clubhouse at three under, while Smith, Toby Tree and Maverick Antcliff were all at the same mark with their second rounds yet to be completed.
The projected cut currently stands at five over par, meaning European Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington and defending Open Championship winner Lowry will miss the weekend by one and two shots respectively.
