Lee Slattery was the big early mover on day two of the Madrid Masters as he bore down on overnight leader Manuel Quiros.
Slattery, starting the day on four under par after a first-round 68, fired three birdies on his opening front nine holes at Centro Nacional de Golf before adding another at the par five tenth.
His four under total for the round gave him an overall score of eight under, just two away from Quiros - who himself started well with four straight pars after beginning on the back nine.
Quiros, whose first-round 62 lit up proceedings yesterday, was one in front of Sergio Garcia on ten under par.
Garcia had began in solid fashion with two birdies and a bogey in his first seven holes to sit on nine under.
Slattery, Anthony Wall and Marcel Siem were all tied for third a shot further back on eight under.
However, the trio were being pushed hard by Irishman Shane Lowry - who enjoyed a blistering start as he rocketed 58 places up the leaderboard to sit in a tie for sixth.
The Irishman, already on the crest of a wave after becoming only the third amateur in The European Tour’s history to register a win having landed The 3 Irish Open earlier this season, rifled in no less than five birdies to reach the turn in 31.
The 22 year old then added a further birdie on the tenth to sit six under for the round and seven under overall.
