The blue skies flecked with the odd cloud offered a beguiling backdrop to the second round of the East of Ireland Championship at County Louth but only for the small knots of spectators. The golfers discovered the firm fairways and slick greens, abetted by a testing breeze and lush rough rendered the Baltray links a toothsome adversary.

Overnight leader, the 21-year-old Chilean Hugo Leon, would attest to its difficulty taking 11 more shots than his opening 67. His six-over 78, included a lost ball at the 12th, dropped him back to one over par as the tournament enters the final 36 holes today.

He was six over after nine holes, rallied briefly with a couple of birdies only to leak a couple of shots on the run-in. While many toiled the same could not be said of Clandeboye's Jonathan Caldwell who added an impressive second round 68 - he shot 69 on Saturday - for a seven-under par total of 137 and a four-shot lead over another Ulsterman Ryan Boal.

Caldwell, who celebrates his 22nd birthday this week, is a student at the University of South Alabama, a campus that was once a temporary home to US tour professional Heath Slocum and fellow Irishman Gareth Maybin, the latter currently acquitting himself well on the one of the mini-tours in the States. Having just completed his second year in Sports Management, the former Ireland Boys international has been in excellent form. He tied for the lead going into the final day (36 holes) of the recent Irish Amateur Open Championship but his game deserted him inopportunely as he slipped from contention at Portmarnock. That experience is likely to fortify ahead of a similar assignment today.

"There's still a long way to go but I'm pleased with the way I'm playing. I holed a few putts on the back nine that made a difference. The greens are very good and there is no excuse for not making putts."

A change of putter has been the catalyst for his confidence on the greens.

It was hardly an auspicious start when he bogeyed the first but birdies at the second and ninth allowed him to turn in one under. Having recorded another bogey on the 11th, he birdied the next before holing a 20-foot par putt on the 14th. The final three holes would prove lucrative in scoring terms, grabbing birdies at 16, 17 and 18 - the latter two with putts of about 20 feet - to surge clear of his pursuers.

Having won the Ulster Youths Championship last year, Caldwell knows how to get over the finishing line and is determined to concentrate on his own game today. The golfer who casts the longest shadow in pursuit is Scrabo's Ryan Boal who added a 71 to an opening 70 for a three under total. He too celebrates a birthday this week, albeit his 29th. A former Ulster Youths player, he's won several scratch cups, and while acquitting himself well in several of the major domestic championships over the years, hasn't managed to quite sustain that impact for a full tournament.

He's happy with his game, a fact endorsed by his performance in the West of Ireland, where he took the eventual champion Rory McIlroy to the 20th hole.

The key to his success to date in Baltray has been a decision to leave the driver in the bag and largely plump for the three wood. "It's so important to keep the ball in play round here."

Starting on the 10th he ran up a couple of bogeys before three successive birdies on the 18th, first and second and another on the sixth took him to two under before dropping a shot on his final hole, the ninth. Defending champion Jim Carvill sneaked through on the cut-off mark of 151 as the top 50 players qualified for a final 36 holes.