THE comeback of Jose Maria Olazabal gathered pace at Aroeira yesterday where the former Masters champion had a second round 67 to become a serious contender for the Portuguese Open title in only his second tournament for 18 months.

Olazabal goes into today's third stage in Lisbon on a seven under par total of 137, five behind surprise leader Michael Jonzon of Sweden, whose 65 for 132 gave him a two stroke advantage over Australians Wayne Riley and Peter O'Malley.

But Padraig Harrington and David Higgins went in the opposite direction, joining Sam Torrance, Howard Clark, and David Gilford - all members of the winning 1995 European Ryder Cup team - on the sidelines. Out too went this year's captain Seve Ballesteros after a 72 which put him outside the qualifying mark for the fourth successive event.

Harrington who had 71, missed by one shot, but Higgins's 77, was five strokes too many for him to be involved this weekend, when Darren Clarke, Ronan Rafferty and Paul McGinley will shoulder Irish expectations.

Clarke should have been much closer to the pacemakers but had to settle for a 71 for 141, which just squeezed him into the top 40. He had fourputts from six feet at the 15th for a double bogey seven, minutes after Olazabal had thrilled the gallery with the shot of the week. He struck a majestic one iron from 232 yards which flew unerringly to the heart of the well guarded green, and finished only two feet from the flag. In went the eagle putt, and when he holed from 15 feet at the 17th, he could hardly stop smiling.

"It is lovely to be back," he exclaimed. I missed the competition a lot when I couldn't play, and it is a long time since I hit a shot like that. Now I would love to be 100 per cent fit. Then I really would be a happy man."

Clarke was actually ahead of Olazabal in the afternoon sunshine when he birdied four of the first seven holes to g six below par, and get out in 33 despite a double bogey at the short eighth, where he missed the green and made a mess of his return chip.

But a tepid putter then failed to turn accurate iron play into birdies and he made a terrible mess of the 15th when he hit the putt two feet past the hole, missed it coming back, and then missed again from 24 inches. He was back to only two under when he drove into trees at the 17th, before stopping the rot with a birdie at the last. "I could have shot 65 with my eyes closed the way I hit the ball," said Clarke, "but those two double bogeys were so costly."

Rafferty improved by four shots to a 69 to be one behind on 142, while McGinley scrambled through on the exact safety mark of one under par after a 71.

Harrington's failure was his first in eight tournaments this season, and it was virtually sealed when he missed a two foot putt on the 10th to take a bogey six.

Eamonn Darcy had 72 for 147 while Des Smyth was disqualified, not for any serious misdemeanour, but for failing to hole out at his last, the ninth, after losing his ball up a fir tree with his third shot at the par five. When he reached the tee he had needed an eagle three to survive.