• Andalucia Masters, Round Two

Ramsay leads but Garcia's in rear-view mirror

Sergio Garcia is still in with a chance of a second successive European Tour victory © Getty Images

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Scotland's Richie Ramsay is on course for his first victory of the season after he finished day two of the Andalucía Masters with a two shot lead, while Sergio Garcia struck a 70 to remain in the hunt for a second successive European Tour crown.

Ramsay showed signs of nerves as his form deserted him, the former US Amateur champion beginning his second round with two bogeys in his first six holes. He gathered himself thereafter, hitting back with a couple of birdies before settling down to reel off six pars on the trot. A dropped shot at the last was not the ideal way to head into the weekend but a one-over 72 leaves him on five-under for the tournament - two clear of Gregory Havret.

The Frenchman also struggled and never looked like matching his first-round effort of 68. A bogey at the third put him on the back foot but he headed to the turn one-under after recovering with two birdies. A double-bogey seven at the 11th rocked him but he again showed battling qualities to breathe life into his turbulent round with back-to-back birdies. However, an error at the par-four 18th prevented him from breaking par, the Frenchman having to make do with a 71.

Garcia, who romped to victory at the Castello Masters last week, is among the chasing pack and will be buoyed by the fact he is in contention despite not having played his best golf. There was less drama in his second round than his first but, ultimately, another 70 was what was written into his scorecard.

The Spaniard began brightly enough on the 1997 Ryder Cup course, picking up a shot at the first before safely negotiating pars at the next four holes, but his run came to an end at the par-three sixth, where he walked off the green with a bogey. The highlight of his round came at the long 11th when he chipped in for the second day running, although this time it was for a birdie rather than an eagle, and he should fancy his chances of glory considering he is only three strokes adrift of Ramsay.

"A very consistent round," said Garcia. "I made a couple of nice par saves. I could have been a little bit more aggressive with a couple of putts coming in, but it was quite windy and some of the putts were extremely quick. All in all it was a good, positive one-under par.

"A back-to-back win would be a great thing, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. We had a great week last week, we have a nice week up to now, but Valderrama can catch you any time - you can never think that you have this course under control. Valderrama is definitely one of the trickiest courses on Tour, even without wind."

Three late bogeys marred Justin Rose's round, the Englishman eventually signing for a 71. He started the day with consecutive birdies to threaten a real surge up the leaderboard, but he could not sustain his fast start as he dropped a shot before the turn. He started his back nine with real purpose, holing back-to-back birdies, but his run of three bogeys started at the 15th and he has work to do if he is to win from one-over-par.

Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer continued to find the going tough, with the former shooting a second consecutive 73 and the latter making five bogeys en route to a 75, with both players reeling on four-over-par. Edoardo Molinari looks set to miss the cut after a 74 left him stranded on nine-over for the week.

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