Grégory Bourdy gave the chasing pack hope when he failed to capitalise on a fantastic start to his Irish Open second round at Royal Portrush.
Bourdy with Indian Jeev Milkha Singh were joint overnight leaders, he eagled the long second and after ten holes had reached 13 under par – three clear of second place.
But after bogeying the par threes 11th and 14th, the 30 year old’s advantage was back down to one again.
Lorenzo Gagli was in second place on ten under after a 66 while Welshman Jamie Donaldson just one further back following a 67 that contained five successive birdies.
Home favourites Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke both shot 69 to get to five under and four under respectively but still have a lot of work to do if they are to challenge at the weekend.