Hartlepool's Graeme Storm, a team-mate of Luke Donald and Paul Casey at the 1999 Walker Cup, kept alive his hopes of a maiden European Tour victory today.
Three closing birdies gave the 28-year-old former British amateur champion a second round 67 in the Spanish Open at San Roque and took him back into the lead he had shared after an opening 65.
While Donald and Casey have gone on to Ryder Cup success Storm has already made four trips to the tour qualifying school and even worked in a cream cake factory four years ago.
Finishing second in the European Open last July ignited his career, but it almost came out of the blue because Thomas Bjorn, joint leader at the time, crashed to an 11 at the penultimate hole.
Now Storm will be tested like never before this weekend.
"I don't think I've held the lead before — I don't even think I've been in the last group before," he said. "It will be interesting.
"I would love to win just once. That would do me. I don't expect to win a lot of titles.
"People expected me to do well after winning the Amateur, but it takes hard work and dedication and losing my card in 2002 was maybe the kick up the backside I needed."
On 12 under par, Storm — who created a little piece of history when his mother caddied for him in the 2000 Masters at Augusta — is a stroke ahead of fellow Englishmen John Bickerton and David Griffiths, Spaniard Carl Suneson, South African Titch Moore and Swede Robert Karlsson, who playing with Storm holed-in-one with an eight-iron to the 194-yard fourth en route to a course record 63.
Storm was in the chasing pack at the time of the ace, but pitched to seven feet on the seventh, their 16th, rolled in a 30-footer on the next and almost holed his wedge at the last.
Bjorn is in the group just two back after a 64 that stood as the record until Karlsson's effort.
The 35-year-old Dane, playing catch-up in the Ryder Cup race after being ill for over a month late last year and then missing five more weeks with a neck injury earlier this season, added the event to his schedule because he is competitive light ahead of his British Masters defence in two weeks' time.
He said: "It was one of those days when golf seemed easy and stress seemed far away.
"I've had six or seven months without much practice, but the last month or so I've been able to start getting my fitness a little bit stronger and getting my game back in shape.
"I've had problems with my neck since I was 18. I just have a very straight neck, no curvature, and it puts a lot of pressure on. Sometimes it gets so inflamed I have no movement.
"Travel does not help and the cold after thunderstorms is not very good for me, so I have to be very careful when we get bad weather."
Colin Montgomerie, four under overnight, is four back after another 68, while Seve Ballesteros's nephew Raul, nine under and four clear after 16 holes of his first round, finished with three birdies like Storm and that gave him a 71 for seven under.
