Ryder Cup hopeful Nick Dougherty produced a sparkling finish to regain a share of the lead at the SAS Masters in Stockholm.
The 26-year-old from Liverpool birdied three of the last four holes for a second successive 66 at Arlandastad and goes into the weekend alongside Swede Peter Hanson on eight under par.
Dougherty, leader of the Ryder Cup points table last October, has fallen to 15th since the death of his mother after a heart attack in April.
He has been determined to play with a smile on his face once more this week, however, and so far it is working wonders.
"That's how I play and it's nice to be doing it again," he said. "The Ryder Cup would be lovely and I would be an idiot if I said it does not matter, but more important is enjoying my golf again.
"I've had my reasons to feel a bit down, but considering how I've played the last few months I've a lot to smile about this week."
There are two more counting tournaments to follow and Dougherty would be just outside an automatic top-10 spot if he were to triumph on Sunday.
His late run began in unlikely fashion on the 545-yard 15th when he missed the fairway by almost 50 yards, then went left before pitching to 15 feet and making the putt.
Dougherty then got up and down from sand at the 17th, another par five, and hit a glorious four-iron to 10 feet on the next.
Hanson also repeated his opening 66, grabbing birdies at three of the first six holes and adding another on the 15th.
They are two ahead of Dane Soren Kjeldsen and Swede Patrik Sjoland, with former Ryder Cup pair Paul Broadhurst and Peter Baker, Scot Gary Orr and another Swede, US Tour-based Daniel Chopra, one further back.
Bristol 20-year-old Chris Wood, making his professional debut four weeks after his stunning fifth-place finish in The Open, is shining again, joint 12th on three under.
Wood, first man out in the second round, twice shared the lead early in his round, but a bogey at the 481-yard seventh, his 16th, meant he finished with a 67 and three-under total.
His performance at Royal Birkdale was the best by an amateur in a major since Justin Rose's fourth place on the same course 10 years ago.
Rose then missed his first 21 cuts as a pro, but Wood was never focusing on simply getting through the first two rounds.
"This is exactly what I had in mind - trying to challenge the lead," said the 6ft 5in former England international.
"I am as good if not better than a lot of them, I think.
"My coach and I have always known I have the ability to do it. I just needed the opportunity and I got it at The Open and took it.
"I just played my normal golf there and it gives me a huge amount of confidence."
American DJ Trahan, a contender for a wild card from American captain Paul Azinger, missed the cut on three over just like his compatriot Dudley Hart and will hope to be much more impressive when the FedEx Cup play-off series begins in New Jersey next week.
Collated second round scores & totals in the European Tour SAS Masters, Arlandastad GC, Stockholm, Sweden
(Gbr & Irl unless stated, par 70):
132 Peter Hanson (Swe) 66 66, Nick Dougherty 66 66
134 Patrik Sjoland (Swe) 68 66, Soren Kjeldsen (Den) 69 65
135 Gary Orr 67 68, Daniel Chopra (Swe) 71 64, Peter Baker 67 68, Paul Broadhurst 67 68
136 Jamie Donaldson 68 68, Pelle Edberg (Swe) 69 67, Graeme Storm 70 66
137 Martin Wiegele (Aut) 71 66, Craig Lee 72 65, Chris Wood 70 67, Andreas Hogberg (Swe) 70 67, Alejandro Canizares (Spa) 71 66, Manuel Quiros (Spa) 71 66, Jesper Parnevik (Swe) 68 69
138 Jean-Baptiste Gonnet (Fra) 69 69, Robert Jan Derksen (Ned) 67 71, Robert Dinwiddie 69 69, Matthew Millar (Aus) 71 67, Oliver Fisher 69 69, Felipe Aguilar (Chi) 68 70, Magnus A Carlsson (Swe) 68 70, Henrik Bjornstad (Nor) 70 68, Niclas Fasth (Swe) 70 68, Thomas Aiken (Rsa) 69 69
139 Christian Cevaer (Fra) 72 67, Peter Whiteford 70 69, Martin Kaymer (Ger) 69 70, Maarten Lafeber (Ned) 69 70, David Lynn 70 69, Simon Wakefield 71 68, Marc Warren 68 71, Gary Murphy 72 67, Ignacio Garrido (Spa) 69 70, Paul McGinley 69 70
140 Damien McGrane 71 69, Mikko Ilonen (Fin) 70 70, Peter Hedblom (Swe) 69 71, Johan Edfors (Swe) 74 66, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 74 66, Pedro Linhart (Spa) 66 74, Alexander Noren (Swe) 72 68, Michael Jonzon (Swe) 70 70, Markus Brier (Aut) 70 70, Bradley Dredge 71 69, Jarmo Sandelin (Swe) 72 68, Phillip Price 71 69, Johan Bjerhag (Swe) 72 68, Sam Walker 72 68, Gareth Paddison (Nzl) 68 72, Lee S James 72 68, Phillip Archer 71 69, Ross McGowan 70 70, Barry Lane 71 69
141 David Palm (Swe) 79 62, Anton Haig (Rsa) 69 72, Anders Hansen (Den) 72 69, Martin Erlandsson (Swe) 67 74, Mattias Eliasson (Swe) 71 70, Paul Waring 72 69, Carlos Rodiles (Spa) 71 70, Raphael Jacquelin (Fra) 73 68, Anthony Wall 72 69, Carl Suneson (Spa) 70 71, Robert Rock 72 69, Fabrizio Zanotti (Par) 74 67, Miles Tunnicliff 72 69, Peter O'Malley (Aus) 74 67, Thomas Levet (Fra) 73 68
-----------------------The following players failed to make the cut---------------
142 Juan Abbate (Arg) 73 69, Alvaro Velasco (Spa) 73 69, Jan Are Larsen (Nor) 73 69, Luis Claverie (Spa) 72 70, Peter Gustafsson (Swe) 72 70, Per-Ulrik Johansson (Swe) 72 70, Stuart Manley 75 67, John Bickerton 74 68, Alvaro Quiros (Spa) 72 70, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 72 70, Sion Bebb 72 70, Rory McIlroy 71 71, Lee Slattery 76 66, Scott Barr (Aus) 68 74, Jean-Francois Remesy (Fra) 71 71, Jean-Francois Lucquin (Fra) 69 73, Gregory Bourdy (Fra) 70 72, Santiago Luna (Spa) 75 67, Mark Foster 70 72
143 Dudley Hart (USA) 71 72, Steve Alker (Nzl) 72 71, Adilson Da Silva (Bra) 71 72, Benn Barham 72 71, Mads Vibe-Hastrup (Den) 74 69, Julio Zapata (Arg) 70 73, Terry Pilkadaris (Aus) 67 76, Jose-Filipe Lima (Por) 73 70, Iain Pyman 72 71, Stephen Gallacher 70 73, Peter Fowler (Aus) 67 76, D.J.
Trahan (USA) 73 70
144 Joakim Backstrom (Swe) 74 70, Mikael Lundberg (Swe) 75 69, Kyron Sullivan 75 69, Scott Drummond 69 75, Simon Dyson 71 73, Simon Khan 72 72, Petter Bocian (Swe) 72 72, Gabriel Canizares (Spa) 72 72, Tony Finau (USA) 74 70, Paul Lawrie 72 72, Tom Whitehouse 72 72, Sam Little 72 72, Marcus Fraser (Aus) 75 69
145 Henrik Nystrom (Swe) 72 73, Garry Houston 73 72, Jamie Moul 74 71, David Griffiths 70 75, Christopher Hanell (Swe) 73 72, Rafael Echenique (Arg) 73 72, Ricardo Gonzalez (Arg) 75 70, Jose Manuel Lara (Spa) 73 72, Lloyd Saltman 73 72, David Drysdale 73 72, Sven Struver (Ger) 74 71, Oliver Suhr (Den) 72 73, James Kamte (Rsa) 69 76, Philip Golding 74 71
146 Joel Sjoholm (Swe) 72 74, Ariel Canete (Arg) 74 72, Emanuele Canonica (Ita) 74 72, Victor Flatau (Swe) 76 70
147 Pontus Widegren (Swe) 76 71, Henrik Norlander (Swe) 74 73, Paolo Terreni (Ita) 76 71, Stephen Dodd 75 72, Hernan Rey (Arg) 75 72, Wade Ormsby (Aus) 75 72, Darren Fichardt (Rsa) 75 72, Edoardo Molinari (Ita) 74 73
148 Anders Larsson (Swe) 73 75, Marcel Siem (Ger) 76 72, Peter Lawrie 76 72
149 David Dixon 78 71, Fredrick Mansson (Swe) 76 73150 Prom Meesawat (Tha) 75 75, Kalle Edberg (Swe) 77 73, Per Barth (Swe) 76 74, Steven Jeppesen (Swe) 75 75, Chapchai Nirat (Tha) 77 73
151 Daniel Vancsik (Arg) 74 77, Florian Praegant (Aut) 78 73
152 Victor Hielte (Swe) 75 77
Disqualified: Marius Thorp (Nor)
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