Shane Lowry stuttered to an even par round on day two of the Open de Espana in Madrid, as Tom McKibbin failed to make the halfway cut.
It was a mixed day for the Offaly man who made four birdies as well as four bogeys to sign for a level par round of 71, and make the weekend at one-under-par overall, eight back of leader Grant Forrest of Scotland.
Lowry’s round got off to a shaky start, driving it into the fairway bunker at the first before salvaging par, however another errant drive at the next would lead to his first bogey of the day.
The front nine lacked much momentum as he made six pars and one birdie – a three on the par-four fifth hole to make the turn in 36.
Then came the downturn of his round, as the Irish Open champion made consecutive bogeys at the par-four tenth and par-three 11th holes.
Three birdies followed on 13, 14 and 16 before Lowry bookended his round with a closing bogey on the 18th hole.
Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin will not be teeing it up this weekend however, as he came up short of the cut on Friday.
The 23-year-old carded a two-over-par round of 73 to miss out by two, with four bogeys, including thee on the back nine proving costly.
Scotland’s Grant Forest leads the way by one shot at nine-under, one clear of countryman Connor Syme and Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach. Hometown favourite Eugenio Chacarra is two back of the lead also, while Sergio Garcia is five shots back.
Ryder Cup stars Justin Rose and Tyrell Hatton also failed to make the cut at two-over and six-over respectively, while current Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed will also miss out, ending his Friday two-over-par also.