A birdie blitz over the closing five holes yesterday sent Tommy Horton soaring up the leaderboard and into joint leadership at the halfway stage at Royal Portrush.

The Royal Jersey golfer posted a four-under-par 68 and ended up the only player to break 70 in the wind and rain. He is on 140 after four birdies in the closing five holes, level with Australian Terry Gale, who carded his second 70.

Horton, the Order of Merit leader, turned in regulation 36, with one birdie and one bogey. He started his rampage with a two at the short 14th, where he holed from 15 feet.

Spectacular work on the greens lifted him to his lofty heights. He rolled home a 12-footer at the 15th for birdie three, got home from seven feet at the 16th for another birdie three and pencilled in a rare three at the last hole after slotting in a 30-footer.

"Coming up the 18th fairway I looked at the leaderboard and it said I was four under and I asked my caddie if that was right," he said.

"I was only three under but took the mistake as a lucky omen.

"The recorder changed the score but I told him to change it back to four under.

"I holed four long putts, which was a great bonus. I had just 31 putts, the same as in the first round.

"This is a tournament that I'd love to win - it would look good on any CV.

"I have won 19 senior events - two this year - but I have not yet won a major and I regard this as a major.

"Gary Player called it a major last year when he won and that's good enough for me."

Gale is determined to make up for the past two years at Royal Portrush. The 52-year-old from Western Australia was 51st in the tournament two years ago and missed the cut last time.

"But I'm better prepared this year," he said, "and I'm not going to be far away, hopefully. This is as good a course as ever I have played but if you are not playing well it will come up and grab you."

He pencilled in nine straight pars to the turn before his only mistake, a bogey six at the 10th hole, the result of a wayward drive.

Three birdies in the last six holes enabled him to catch Horton, who had been leader in the clubhouse for a couple of hours. Gale holed from 15 feet and 30 feet at the 13th and 14th for birdies and from 12 feet on the last green.

Best placed of the Irish is Eddie Polland, who posted a 71 for twounder 142.

Polland double-bogeyed the first hole after hacking his way to the green but then stormed over the next eight holes in four-under par.

He had just one blot on the back nine - a five at the 12th after being plugged in a bunker and taking two to get out.

Rookie Denis O'Sullivan continued his form of not missing a cut this year, with a steady 73 yesterday leaving him on regulation 144. O'Sullivan is one of nine Irish players from 16 starters who made the cut of eight-over-par 152.

Another is Christy O'Connor, who chipped in twice for birdies in his 77 for 151.

Britain's Brian Barnes was well-placed on the leaderboard until a double bogey seven on the 17th, where he found a bunker with his second shot and left his recovery in the sand. Barnes shot a 73 to be three shots adrift of the leaders.

Former British and US Open champion Tony Jacklin looks set to miss the cut after slipping to nine over with a round of 77.