Argentina's Miguel Carballo continued where he left off at The 2005 European Tour Qualifying School to the lead the Argentinean assault on the Abierto Movistar de Guatemala. The 27 year old posted a second consecutive round of six under par 66 to establish one shot lead from his fellow countrymen Gustavo Rojas - who carded an inspiring second round 63 - and Miguel Rodriguez.
Only Colombia's Daniel Vanegas prevents the top six spots on the leaderboard being occupied by Argentine players with Sergio Acevedo, Paulo Pinto and Hernan Rey sharing fifth spot on eight under par.
Of all the Argentine players in the field it was Carballo and Rojas who took the second round limelight at the Hacienda Nueva Country Club in Guatemala City.
Rojas started his second round on the tenth tee and trailed a birdie blaze on his 'front' nine, going to the turn in six under par 30 before coming he dropped his only shot of the day on the first. He quickly made amends for his only mistake of the day with four more birdies to vault into a tie for second place - one shot behind Carballo.
The tournament leader is still basking in the memory of the 2005 Qualifying School at San Roque Club in Spain, where he won his card for The 2006 European Tour. Having played 105 out 108 holes of the six round test, Carballo was six over par and two shots outside the all important four over mark that was looking the likely cut-off point for the top 30 players and ties. Carballo stood on the seventh tee (he began the final round from the tenth) at San Roque in a tie for 54th place and in need of at least two birdies in his closing three holes to guarantee a place on Tour.
What happened next could be called genius, luck or divine intervention, but is probably best described as a combination of all three adjectives. Carballo birdied the seventh to set up a thrilling finish, which he conjured in unbelievable fashion, holing his four iron tee shot on the par three eighth before birdieing the last to finish four-one-three and guarantee himself the 17th card with a two over par total.
"It was amazing," said Carballo about his great accomplishment. "I was tied for the 54th spot and after shooting 4-under on the last three holes and earned a spot on the European Tour. It was a huge step for my career!
"I have the feeling that I played better than yesterday. I made only one mistake and paid for it with bogey. I feel good, my ball striking is great and that gives me the confidence that I'm going to need this weekend."
While the first round leaders had to deal with strong winds at the Hacienda Nueva Country Club, Rojas took full advantage of the calm conditions earlier in the day. "There was no wind blowing when I teed off, so my only task was to strike the ball well," admitted Rojas "The putts were falling, most of them within five feet. I was hitting it very close," said the TLA and Challenge Tour Member.
Sweden's Johan Axgren is the leading European in the field on seven under par after a second round 70.
