An opening round of 75 at the St Omer Open did not bode well for Christian Nilsson but the Swede bounced back in style today, equalling the course record with a seven-under-par 64 for a two shot lead.

Nilsson's three-under-par 139 aggregate took him two strokes ahead of Briton John E Morgan, who posted a 72, and three better than Brazilian Alexandre Rocha (67) and Paraguay's Marco Ruiz (68).

Ireland's Gareth Maybin is level par after a round of 72 and his fellow Ulsterman, Michael Hoey, is three over.

Tournament favourite Paul McGinley has failed to live up to his billing, languishing on seven over after a 75. An unimpressive putting display by the Dubliner cost him the chance of further action as he missed the cut.

"Six three-putts in two days, you can't compete like that," McGinley said.

Meanwhile, David Higgins and Colm Moriarty are both five-over-par, while Stephen Browne is 11 over thanks to a 78.

An improved putting display enabled Nilsson to match the record 64s of Australian Brett Rumford (2003) and Britain's Jamie Little (2006)

"I found it very hard to find the lines on the greens yesterday but today I managed to read them much better and that was the difference in my score," Nilsson told reporters.

Nilsson, who lies 165th on the European money-list, is looking for a victory to make the step up from the lower tier Challenge Tour this week by gaining a one-year exemption to the full tour.

"A couple of good rounds could mean my card," he added.