Grant Forrest hit the front, Eugenio Chacarra was thanking the home crowds, Eddie Pepperell produced a big finish and Nicolai Højgaard made his first competition hole-in-one.
Here is everything you need to know from day two at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
Forrest holds halfway lead
After holding a share of the first-round lead, Grant Forrest carded a four-under-par 67 on Friday to reach nine under and earn a one-shot lead ahead of the weekend's action. The Scot has twice finished tied third in Spain’s national open, in 2021 and 2024, and has never missed the cut across his six previous appearances at Real Club de Campo Villa de Madrid. Countryman Connor Syme and Switzerland's Joel Girrbach are his nearest challengers.
To read our report from the second round, click here.
Chacarra 'so proud' to be in the mix
Eugenio Chacarra made a strong hint there were no guarantees he would be able to tee it up for the second round due to a fractured toe, but he persevered and was rewarded with a second-round 69 to sit two adrift of the lead. "I'm not playing very good golf, but I'm just fighting, you know, when I miss, try to miss in the spot that I can make a par, and yeah, overall, my putting is helping," he said. "I'm chipping good, and obviously, having the crowd with me kind of helps me get through it, you know? Like, today was way better than yesterday. I did a great job with my team last night, the medications are getting through. I played a little less pain-free. I didn't really feel my toes, that's a weird feeling, but I think overall we had a good Friday, and happy to have a chance for the weekend. I'm so proud."
Opportunity knocks as Reed misses the cut
A potentially significant weekend ahead awaits in the battle to win the Race to Dubai. With longtime Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World leader Patrick Reed missing the cut, Chacarra will overtake Rory McIlroy and the American and top the season-long standings with a victory.
Big finish helps Pepperell make the cut
With seven holes to play in his second round, the omens weren’t looking good for Eddie Pepperell. Coming into the week 101st in the Race to Dubai as a late invite and needing a good showing to stand a chance of finishing the season inside the top 100 on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered and with it the ability to play almost a full DP World Tour schedule next year, a missed cut looked odds-on. But to his credit, he made four birdies coming home to make the cut on the number. "I was pretty resigned to be going home to be honest after 12 holes today through my round, but hung in there and yeah, made it happen," he said.
Oh, brother!
Prior to a hole-in-one during the Pro-Am at the Omega European Masters last month, Nicolai Højgaard had never made one - either in competition or social play.
He now has two and has the bragging rights over his brother Rasmus, who is awaiting his first.
And, perhaps unsurprisingly, as is often the case between siblings, Nicolai emphasised that point.
"We had a massive competition over who would make the first one [a hole-in-one]," he said.
"Now I’ve got two. So, he needs to up his game to keep up. It's a nice feeling."
Despite that moment of excellence, the 25-year-old missed the cut in the Spanish capital after a second-round one-over-par 72 dropped him back to four over.
"You want a shot like that to obviously be the highlight of your week, but the poor play has overshadowed everything," he added.
"So, the feeling of making the hole-in-one is nice, but not as good as I wanted."
