Ian Woosnam delighted the partisan crowds by staying on course for a hat-trick of victories on home soil spanning three decades.

Woosnam added a second round 69 to his opening 68 for a halfway total of 137, seven under par, to claim a share of the lead in the inaugural £750,000 Wales Open at Celtic Manor.

Zimbabwe's Mark McNulty was alongside the Welshman after a spectacular eagle-birdie-birdie finish in his 67, with Manchester's Ross McFarlane and Denmark's Steen Tinning a shot further back.

Best of the Irish was a rejuvenated Philip Walton who fired a 70 to lie on 142.

Woosnam, who won the second of his 28 European Tour titles at St Pierre, Chepstow, in 1983 and won over the same course again in 1990, was delighted to be back in front of his home fans.

"It's nice to have the crowds behind you, to hear that Welsh accent coming out shouting `Come on Woosie' and they were willing my putts in," said Woosnam, who had five birdies and two bogeys.

"They cheer every putt that goes in and they're willing me to win. Hopefully I can do it. It helps you to maintain your concentration a little bit and give that bit extra.

"Maybe that's what I need, to knuckle down and concentrate a bit harder, especially on the last six holes of this course.

"It would mean a lot to win in Wales in three different decades but any win anywhere I would accept at the moment."

Meanwhile, on the US Tour, Dennis Paulson added a three-under-par 68 to his opening 65 to maintain his lead early in the second round of the Buick Classic in New York.

Paulson is on 133, two clear of Skip Kendall. Ireland's Richie Coughlan missed the cut despite a second round 71. Keith Nolan was four shots outside the projected cut with 13 holes to play.