Peter Lawrie carded a sweet 69 to put himself bang in contention at the halfway stage of the Hassan Trophy in Morocco.
The Dubliner carded a one-under-par 71 on Thursday and followed that up with a measured round to sit two shots off Italy's Francesco Laporta, who leads the way in just his 15th appearance on the European Tour.
Laporta added a second round of 70 to an opening 68 at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam to finish six under par, a shot ahead of Spain's Borja Virto Astudillo, Australia's Jason Scrivener and Korea's Wang Jeunghun.
Waterford man Kevin Phelan made a good start on Thursday but a 74 after an opening 70 saw him slip down the leaderboard on level par for the tournament, six off the leader.
Gary Hurley is three shots further back after a 76, while Greystones' Paul Dunne carded the same score to finish on four over par.
Former Walker Cup player Cormac Sharvin, Michael Hoey and Rory McNamara and failed to make the weekend as they signed off on seven over, 12 over and 20 over respectively.
Another reason to stay out of the bunker.#TropheeHassanII pic.twitter.com/NI6BKOHasv
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 6, 2016
Starting on the back nine, Laporta [pictured below] birdied the 10th and 12th before dropping a shot on the 13th and carding a double bogey on the par-three 14th, but responded with four birdies in the next six holes.
The 25-year-old, who gained his card via the qualifying school in November, dropped another shot on the tough eighth but was delighted to carry on the form he showed in finishing fourth in a Challenge Tour event in Madrid on Sunday.
"I played very well from the start," Laporta said. "Unfortunately I gave the shots back with the double on 14, but I actually hit a pretty good tee shot, but it just caught the bunker and then I three-putted. But other than that, I hit the ball very well again. It was just a really solid display and I enjoyed it.
"It's going to be exciting at the weekend. I haven't been in this position going into the weekend at a European Tour event before, so I'm just going to try to enjoy it and do my best. It should be a great experience and I'm looking forward to it."
South Africa's Zander Lombard had reached seven under par earlier in the day after four birdies and an eagle on the daunting Red Course, which measures almost 7,500 yards.
However, the world number 260 then bogeyed the seventh and double-bogeyed the eighth and had to settle for a second consecutive 70.
Lombard, who has not finished outside the top 12 in four European Tour events this season, said: "It's definitely a course where you have to hit the fairways and put it in the right spots on the greens.
"I hit a few wayward drives and managed well to keep the [high] scores off the card, but eight is such a brutal hole into the wind.
"I tried to hit it too hard down the left and made a silly three-putt so a bit disappointed with that double, but the rest of the round was really solid and I'm definitely looking forward to the weekend.
"It's my first big week event in a few weeks so it's very nice to be in the mix again on a weekend and I'm definitely going to try my best."
American Daniel Im and Ireland's Peter Lawrie were alongside Lombard on four under after matching rounds of 69, but former champion Rhys Davies missed the cut after a nightmare finish to his 76.
Davies, who won his sole European Tour title to date in Rabat in 2010, had been two under par for the tournament after starting on the back nine and carding birdies on the 10th, 12th and 15th to reach the turn in 34.
However, the former world number 44 then recorded three bogeys in succession from the first and double-bogeyed the eighth and ninth in a homeward nine of 42 to finish five over par, one shot outside the cut.
