Overnight leader Cormac Sharvin teed it up in the first group of the day but after pulling away from the rest of the field in his opening round, the Northern Irishman found it trickier on Day Two of the Challenge de España.
Sharvin posted a three over par 75 but still sits well within the mix going into the weekend on -4 just five off the lead, such was the pattern of scoring on a challenging day in northern Spain.
Michael Hoey and Ruaidhri McGee moved up the leaderboard on day two as both players broke par and sit on -2 in a tie for 22nd.
Jonathan Caldwell, Conor O’Rourke and John Ross Galbraith all missed the halfway cut.
At the top, a blistering run of five birdies in six holes catapulted Julien Brun into the Challenge de España lead on Day Two at Izki Golf.
Much like the opening day, the conditions were cold and windy in Urturi with all players being forced to battle the elements from dawn until dusk.
But for Frenchman Brun, a red-hot run of birdies in the middle of his round propelled him up the leaderboard and secured top spot at the halfway stage on nine under par.
In the morning groups it was Adrian Meronk who combated the windy conditions to take control of the Challenge de España.
The Pole posted an opening five under par 67 in the first round and followed it up with a diligent 70 to hold the lead after the completion of the morning groups.
And Meronk held that lead for the majority of the afternoon, before an inspired Brun made his ascent up the leaderboard.
The Frenchman was level par after a birdie and a bogey in his first four holes but the flurry of birdies was soon to begin.
A birdie at the par four 15th was sandwiched between two pars before an incredible run of four successive gains catapulted him beyond Meronk to take the outright lead, a sequence of holes which were undoubtedly the highlight of his round.
“There were a few highlights today but the four birdies in a row felt very good,” he said. “I hit a very good six iron on eight to reach the green in two and make birdie.
“It was very windy around the turn and I started with a good birdie on the par three 17th. I put myself to 15 feet and made the putt and then I hit a good wedge on 18 and holed a short putt. I also made a very good birdie on two as well from about ten feet.”
The 26 year old, who began his round on the tenth tee, carded pars on the third and fourth holes before another birdie on the fifth increased his lead to two as he moved to nine under par.
Another three arrived at the par three sixth to remain at nine under par but the second bogey of his round occurred on the seventh hole as the Frenchman dropped back to eight under par.
However, Brun immediately reinstated his two-shot cushion with a birdie at the par five eighth and had the opportunity to move to ten under par with a 15-foot birdie putt at the final hole, but it narrowly missed as he was forced to settle for par.
Brun will now lead the way going into the weekend and he was pleased with how he played for his 66 at Izki Golf this afternoon.
“It was a long day,” he said. “I started at 3.00pm so I needed to be patient and well prepared for the day and I did very well. I’m very happy with what I did today.
“My game was good today. I put myself in good positions off the tee and then I was able to put myself close to the pin. I also putted very well and when it goes like that, it’s easy.
“It’s tricky because the ball bounces quite a bit on the greens when it’s windy like this. You have to place the ball at targets sometimes and try to be aggressive when you can.
“It’s a good track here. It gives you opportunities when you play well but it can give you quick bogeys as well.”
Nicolai Von Dellingshausen, Oscar Lengden and Matt Ford all sit one shot behind second-placed Meronk on six under par, whilst Dutchman Wil Besseling is sixth on five under par.
A group of five players – Cormac Sharvin, Niklas Lemke, Joel Sjöholm, Jack Senior and Gary Stal – share seventh position on four under par going into the weekend.
Scores after round two:
135 J Brun (Fra) 69 66,
137 A Meronk (Pol) 67 70,
138 N Von Dellingshausen (Ger) 67 71, M Ford (Eng) 71 67, O Lengden (Swe) 69 69,
139 W Besseling (Ned) 69 70,
140 J Sjöholm (Swe) 70 70, N Lemke (Swe) 71 69, C Sharvin (Nir) 65 75, G Stal (Fra) 71 69, J Senior (Eng) 70 70,
141 L Nemecz (Aut) 73 68, N Johansson (Swe) 71 70, P Barjon (Fra) 70 71, C Braeunig (Ger) 69 72, R Sciot-Siegrist (Fra) 72 69, J Pastor (Esp) 68 73, R Enoch (Wal) 69 72, J Doherty (Sco) 73 68, R Langasque (Fra) 72 69, C Feldborg Nielsen (Swe) 71 70,
142 J Quesne (Fra) 69 73, S Khan (Eng) 72 70, M Hoey (Nir) 71 71, J Maw (Eng) 74 68, J Huldahl (Den) 72 70, A Rozner (Fra) 70 72, E Goya (Arg) 69 73, N Geyger (Chi) 70 72, R McGee (Irl) 72 70, C Mivis (Bel) 71 71, A Knappe (Ger) 73 69,
143 P Mejow (Ger) 72 71, D Berna Manzanares (Esp) 72 71, P Angles (Esp) 70 73, R Santos (Por) 71 72, R McGowan (Eng) 72 71, R Van West (Ned) 70 73, M Kim (Kor) 70 73, H Joannes (Bel) 75 68, B Parker (Eng) 75 68, R McEvoy (Eng) 73 70,
144 B Virto (Esp) 71 73, V Perez (Fra) 72 72, P Maddy (Eng) 72 72, J Hansen (Den) 72 72, T Linard (Fra) 71 73, F Bergamaschi (Ita) 71 73, A Tadini (Ita) 74 70, D Boote (Wal) 71 73, A Chapman (Eng) 78 66, D Borda (Esp) 70 74, J Van Der Vaart (Ned) 75 69, M Galiano Aguilar (Esp) 71 73,
145 M Haastrup (Den) 74 71, J Adams (Eng) 73 72, F Aguilar (Chi) 74 71, A Arnaus (Esp) 73 72, P Erofejeff (Fin) 70 75, M Gradecki (Pol) 70 75, B Hellgren (Swe) 73 72, E De La Riva (Esp) 76 69, R De Sousa (Sui) 72 73, S Tarrio Ben (Esp) 73 72, T Santos Silva (Por) 74 71, H Leon (Chi) 74 71, M Lundberg (Swe) 73 72, P Figueiredo (Por) 76 69, X Gorospe (am) (Esp) 73 72,
146 E España (Fra) 74 72, B Eccles (Aus) 72 74, S Manley (Wal) 74 72, P Howard (Eng) 71 75, J Singh Brar (Eng) 71 75, M Fenasse (Fra) 74 72, J Sainz (Esp) 76 70, K Samooja (Fin) 72 74, N Møller (Den) 72 74, I Cantero Gutierrez (Esp) 76 70, Å Nilsson (Swe) 74 72, V Østerby (Den) 75 71, J Caldwell (Nir) 74 72, J Rutherford (Eng) 73 73, Ó Serna (Mex) 76 70, J McDonald (Sco) 74 72, M Trappel (Aut) 72 74, J Girrbach (Sui) 71 75, A Garcia-Heredia (Esp) 73 73,
147 T Tree (Eng) 72 75, J Sarasti (Esp) 74 73, S Gregory (Eng) 75 72, K Koivu (Fin) 76 71, B Stow (Eng) 71 76, V Riu (Fra) 75 72, C O’Rourke (Irl) 73 74, J Lando Casanova (Fra) 75 72, B Evans (Eng) 76 71, R Davies (Wal) 73 74,
148 E Di Nitto (Ita) 69 79, A Wennstam (Swe) 76 72, J Davidson (Wal) 74 74, M Lampert (Ger) 72 76, S Henry (Sco) 72 76, R Roussel (Fra) 72 76, K Johannessen (Nor) 73 75,
149 S Garcia Rodriguez (Esp) 73 76, A Velasco (Esp) 77 72, S Matus (Cze) 77 72, E Cuartero Blanco (Esp) 71 78, D Foos (Ger) 76 73, B Ritthammer (Ger) 77 72, S Einhaus (Ger) 79 70, J Segurola (Esp) 76 73, A Plant (Eng) 75 74, M Ovesen (Den) 78 71, K Hesbois (Bel) 73 76, C Koerbler (Aut) 76 73, R Hjelm (Den) 76 73,
150 P Valasek (Svk) 75 75, E Ferguson (Sco) 77 73, T Murray (Eng) 77 73, D Perrier (Fra) 77 73, F Laporta (Ita) 71 79, D Stewart (Sco) 76 74, C Doak (Sco) 76 74,
151 L Van Meijel (Ned) 77 74, M Iten (Sui) 73 78, G Migliozzi (Ita) 76 75, A Boasson (Isl) 75 76,
152 U Coussaud (Fra) 78 74, C Del Moral (Esp) 76 76, N Marsh (Eng) 75 77, J Munro (Aus) 78 74, J Arnoy (Nor) 79 73,
153 D Van Driel (Ned) 79 74, K McClatchie (RSA) 78 75, J Hilleard (Eng) 76 77, M Ludwig (Aut) 76 77, J Marin (Esp) 77 76, O Stark (Swe) 78 75,
154 J Galbraith (Nir) 76 78, J Carlota (Por) 73 81, D Huizing (Ned) 75 79, B Hafthorsson (Isl) 75 79, F Maccario (Ita) 77 77, G King (Eng) 76 78,
155 M Søgaard (Den) 77 78, B Karatas (Tur) 75 80,
157 A Altuntas (Tur) 77 80,
158 L Robinson (Eng) 79 79,
160 J Carlsson (Swe) 78 82,
161 L Ruuska (Fin) 84 77,
162 J Cafourek (Cze) 80 82,
** S Dyson (Eng) 75 RT, M Schmitt (Ger) 80 WD, D Law (Sco) 73 RT,
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