Nicolas Colsaerts gave himself a huge increase in his bid to retain his European Tour card once he earned a share of the halfway lead in the Amundi Open de France.
Colsaerts arrived in Le Golf National ranked 114th four locations outside the mark, to Dubai about the Hurry to retain complete playing rights for next season, with following weeks Portugal Experts and this weeks event staying in the 2019 effort.
But the Belgian defied the pressure along with the cool conditions across the Albatross path to fire a high quality 66 and hit nine under, although he cost himself the outright lead heading into the weekend after he pulled a long-iron into the water in the final and was not able to save par.
Colsaerts is tied at the top with Southern African George Coetzee, who birdied his final hole to place a 68, while Richie Ramsay (69) is just two strokes two-time key winner Martin Kaymer can also be in contention on five under par.
Former Ryder Cup celebrity Colsaerts, whos without a European Tour win since the Volvo World Match Play at 2012, fought to create much occur in a windy front two until he turned into the outright lead with five birdies in six holes after the turn.
But the 36-year-old pulled his tee-shot had to settled for a 66 and a bogey, also too far left in the past. He admitted he was happy to find that the end drop because he made the turn, which made the half more comfy for the players.
It was very hard when we started, he said. The front two was fairly difficult as it was blowing fairly hard and out of a slightly different direction than yesterday. Then it sort of calmed down a bit on the back nine.
I left a few long putts which gave me momentum into the back nine, that was fine, and the rest has been free-flowing. So yeah, quite satisfied with the way I ended these first two rounds.
Coetzee was outside at the final set of the day from the 10th teeand he also made a good start until he accompanied by a bogey at 13 with a double-bogey at the 16th afterwards he rinsed his initial tee shot.
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However he had been another to assemble a sustained burst of scoring on the front two as he birdied five of their first six holes then atoned for a bogey in eight with another birdie at nine to cap a 68 and secure a share of the clubhouse lead with Colsaerts.
Many believed Kurt Kitayama would be difficult to catch after the in-form American returned a 68 to set the early target in eight under, while Ramsay wouldve been nearer to the leaders had it not been for a bad start, and finish, to his 69.
The veteran Scot made only one level on the front , which he began with a double-bogey six earlier mixing five birdies with two bogeys at a vibrant, external 35, but Ramsay then enjoyed a continuous run of pars before picking up shots at 14 and 15, only to err again at the past to slide to seven below.
Kaymer counter six birdies with four bogeys in an erratic 69 which leaves him well positioned on five beneath because he chases his first win as the 2014 US Open, and he is flat with the luckless Gavin Moynihan, who endured a tough crack on the par-three 16th.
The Irishman, languishing at 162nd about the Rush to Dubai, thought he had won a BMW i8, worth over #130,000, when his arrow-straight eight-iron pitched at the pit, however, his ball bounced from the cup and then settled towards the rear of the green.
Meanwhile, the days round belonged to visiting American Hudson Swafford, whose 65 featured four birdies and a course-record three eagles but also four dropped shots.
