Lee Westwood is thrilled to be involved at the business end of a tournament after the halfway stage.
The former European Tour Order of Merit winner has struggled to such an extent recently it was no forgone conclusion he would make the cut at the Murphy's Irish Open at Fota Island.
However, his opening 67 was his best for some time and his revival looked set to continue when he made four birdies in a row from the fourth to reach the turn in 32 yesterday to be eight under.
A wild drive at the 10th cost him a double-bogey seven but he steadied the ship with birdie threes at the 14th and 16th for a 68.
"I'm delighted with the position I'm in. I have a chance going into the weekend which is something I have not been able to say for a while, It's very satisfying," said Westwood.
In a closely-bunched field, Peter O'Malley - on nine under par - has a one-shot advantage over Colin Montgomerie, Sweden's Carl Petersson and Germany's Alexander Cejka, with Westwood in a group one shot further back on seven under.
Defending champion Montgomerie made his move with three birdies in four holes from the fifth.
But he aggravated an on-going back injury playing the ninth hole, which he bogeyed, and having taken a dose of painkillers at the 10th, he dropped further shots at the 13th and 14th before two closing birdies salvaged a second consecutive 67.
"I struggled coming in and I don't think I hit a fairway. Instead of being five or even four under, I'm eight under, so that's a big, big difference to start Saturday," said Montgomerie, who will undergo further treatment before his third round.
Australian star O'Malley attributed his improvement in form to good driving.
"I hit every fairway and only missed three on Thursday. That is the key around here. The fairways have firmed up a bit so the emphasis on carrying the ball a long way isn't so great which suits me," he said.
"It is playing almost like a course in Australia with firm greens, firm fairways and a bit of wind. The rough is not too severe."
